GB2223987A

GB2223987A - Inflatable lifejacket

Info

Publication number: GB2223987A
Application number: GB8820626A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roger Vernon Estcourt
Original assignee: Crewsaver Ltd
Current assignee: Crewsaver Ltd
Priority date: 1988-09-01
Filing date: 1988-09-01
Publication date: 1990-04-25
Also published as: GB8820626D0

Abstract

A lifejacket comprises a harness 12, 14 and an inflatable bladder 18 which is secured to the harness 12, 14. The bladder 16 comprises a pair of lobes 19 in compartments 17 arranged to expand forwardly (in relation to the wearer's chest) on being inflated and a halter part 18 which provides head-support buoyancy. On being inflated the lobes 19 expand to such an extent as to provide sufficient turning force to move the wearer to the desired supine position with his/her mouth and nose clear of the water, even when the wearer is unconscious or his/her clothing has entrapped considerable volumes of air. <IMAGE>

Description

INFLATABLE LIFEJACKET This invention relates to lifejackets of the inflatable type.

Inflatable lifejackets are well-known, and are inflated either orally or by means of a gas cylinder before, or as soon as possible after, the wearer enters the water. The lifejacket has two main functions, to turn the wearer over if he is face down in the water into a supine position and then to support the wearer in a supine position with his nose and mouth clear of the water. However, the wearer may also be wearing a survival suit or wet-water clothing which tends to entrap considerable volumes of air, and the wearer may be dazed or even unconscious on entering the water.

In such cases, although the lifejacket may provide adequate buoyancy, the wearer may not, or may only slowly, reach the desired supine position and the results could be fatal.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome or at least reduce the above problem.

According to the present invention, there is provided a lifejacket having a harness and an inflatable bladder which is secured to the harness, characterised in that at least part of the bladder is arranged to expand forwardly (in relation to the wearer's chest) on being inflated, to such an extent as to provide sufficient turning force to move the wearer to a satisfactory supine position if the wearer becomes immersed in the water in an unsatisfactory position.

In one preferred form, the bladder is a single envelope comprising a pair of lobes arranged to extend forwardly and interconnected by a halter chamber which provides head-support buoyancy when the wearer is in the desired supine position.

The bladder is intended to be inflated by a gas cylinder which operates automatically or is operated manually, but an oral inflator may (also) be provided.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front view showing a lifejacket, prior to inflation, on a wearer; Figure 2 is a front view showing the lifejacket after inflation; and Figures 3 and 4 are side and plan views, respectively, corresponding to Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, a lifejacket 10 is strapped to a wearer 11, in a conventional manner, by an adjustable waist-belt 12 which has a front buckle 13, and an adjustable backstrap 14 which extends from the belt 12 to halter part 15 of the lifejacket.

The lifejacket has an outer envelope 16 of generally standard shape comprising a pair of front compartments 17 attached to the belt 12 at their lower ends and interconnected by the halter part 15. The envelope houses a shaped bladder 18 comprising a pair of lobes 19 which are flat-folded within the compartments 17, before inflation, and an arcuate chamber 20 which extends from the top ends of the lobes and lies within the halter part 15 of the envelope 16. The compartments 17 are closed by Velcro strips 21, but it will be noted that a releaseable tie strap 22 extends through the strips to interconnect the front ends of the lobes.

Figs. 2 to 4 show the lifejacket after inflation of the bladder, by means of a 50 lb CO2 cylinder 23 which is manually operated by a cord 24. Reference 25 denotes a mouth tube for oral inflation. On inflation, the lobes 19 expand to separate the Velcro strips, and continue to expand forwardly to the illustrated positions.

The interconnecting chamber 20 also expands within the halter part 15 of the now-open envelope 16.

If the wearer enters the water unsatisfactorily, i.e. face downwards, the inflated lobes will rotate the wearer to the desired supine position with his mouth and nose clear of the water. Even if the wearer has air-entrapping clothing which produces a buoyancy that tends to maintain his face-dswn position, the buoyancy of the submersed lobes will produce sufficient turning movement to rotate the wearer as desired. In the supine position, the wearer's head is supported by the halter position of the bladder, and approximately half of the volume of the lobes remains submerged to provide further buoyancy.

Modifications may be made as mentioned below, and the form and dimensions and, to some extent, the capacity of the bladder may be varied. However, tests have shown that a bladder as illustrated and with dimensions A and B (Fig. 4) approximately 430 mm and 380 mm respectively, has functioned very successfully when inflated by a CO2 cylinder producing 50 lbs buoyancy.

On the other hand, tests on a similar lifejacket which was adequately inflated by a 35 lb cylinder gave results which were barely acceptable.

The interconnected lobes have proved to be very satisfactory as they are stable and, furthermore, do not define a 'valley' which might direct surges of water towards the wearer's face; it should be noted from Fig.

3 that the wearer's chest is indicated by broken line 26. However, it is envisaged that a single lobe or even an erectile tube of sufficient capacity would produce an acceptable turning moment.

As described, the lifejacket has a bladder which extends through the halter part. However, it is possible to include a halter part of, for example, plastics foam to give permanent buoyancy, and to have inflatable lobes attached thereto; such lobes may be pneumatically interconnected and may also be interconnected by a tie such as 22.

Claims

1. A lifejacket having a harness and an inflatable bladder which is secured to the harness, in which at least part of the bladder is arranged to expand forwardly (in relation to the wearer's chest) on being inflated, to such an extent as to provide sufficient turning force to move the wearer to a satisfactory supine position if the wearer becomes immersed in the water in an unsatisfactory position.

2. A lifejacket as claimed in claim 1, in which the bladder comprises a pair of lobes arranged to extend forwardly and a halter part which provides head-support buoyancy when the wearer is in the desired supine position.

3. A lifejacket as claimed in claim 2, in which the lobes are pneumatically interconnected.

4. A lifejacket as claimed in claim 2 or 3, in which the halter part is an inflatable halter chamber.

5. A lifejacket as claimed in claims 3 and 4, in which the lobes are interconnected by the halter chamber.

6. A lifejacket as claimed in claim 6, in which the bladder is formed as a single envelope comprising the lobes and the halter chamber.

7. A lifejacket as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, in which the front ends of the lobes are interconnected by a releasable tie strap.

8. A lifejacket as claimed in any preceding claim and comprising automatic inflation means.

9. A lifejacket substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. The features as herein disclosed, or their equivalents, in any novel patentable selection.