GB2246745A

GB2246745A - Personal bouyancy aid

Info

Publication number: GB2246745A
Application number: GB9016478A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Christopher John Ashdown
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-07-27
Filing date: 1990-07-27
Publication date: 1992-02-12
Anticipated expiration: 2010-07-27
Also published as: GB9016478D0; GB2246745B

Abstract

A buoyance aid for use by persons engaged in water-sports, e.g. swimming, comprises a tubular container 10 closed by a removable closure 11 hold in place by an elastic band 13. The closure 11 holds a cylinder 25 of compressed gas connected via automatic valve 23 to a collapsed inflatable bladder (20) in container 10. Removal of the closure pulls the bladder clear of the container and allows valve plungers 27 to be spring-biased outwards to open the valve 23 to inflate the bladder to provide 10 to 25 kg of buoyancy. Band 13 may serve as a wrist-strap or hand-hold. The aid may be secured to clothing by clip 17. The bladder incorporates handholds. Container dimensions are given. <IMAGE>

Description

PERSONAL BUOYANCY AID This invention relates to a personal buoyancy aid suitable for use by, for example (but not exclusively), swimmers, board-sailers and others engaged in water sports.

There are available many different kinds of buoyancy aid available for personal use, intended for use by those engaged in water sports. For example, a common form of buoyancy aid is in the form of a sleeveless jacket intended to be worn around the upper torso, the jacket including between its inner and outer surfaces a closed cell material whereby the jacket when immersed will provide the wearer with several kilograms of buoyancy. Similarly configured buoyancy aids include compartments which may be inflated, either automatically or by the wearer blowing into a suitable tube, to increase the buoyancy yet further.

A disadvantage of the above-described kinds of buoyancy aid is that they are in the form of a garment intended to be worn; and most of these aids provide at least some buoyancy whenever immersed in water. As a consequence, though these buoyancy aids may be most suitable for use by people when undertaking water sports but who are not normally immersed (such as dinghy and board sailors, water skiers and so on) they would not normally be worn by swimmers. Moreover, there is a reluctance to wear garments when undertaking water sports in relatively warm or hot climates, so reducing the acceptability of buoyancy aids of the kind described above.

It is principal aim of the present invention to provide a personal buoyancy aid intended to enhance the safety of people engaged in various kinds of water sports, which buoyancy aid at least reduces the disadvantages discussed above of the various known forms of garment-like personal buoyancy aids.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention provides a personal buoyancy aid comprising a container having an removable closure for an opening thereinto; an inflatable bladder packed into the container and connected to the closure; a canister charged with compressed gas and connected to the bladder through a valve; and operating means coupled to said valve and associated with the container whereby removal of the closure from the container pulls the bladder from the container and causes the operating means automaticdlly to operate the valve to inflate the bladder.

It will be appreciated that the personal buoyancy aid of the present invention provides substantially no buoyancy until such time as the closure is removed from the container to cause inflation of the bladder. As a consequence, the carrying of the personal buoyancy aid of this invention by a swimmer - for example, by clipping the aid to a swimming costume or attaching it to a torso belt or arm or leg band, need not affect the performance of the swimmer to any significant extent.

Moreover, suitable design of the container and bladder enables the overall size of the container to be kept relatively small whilst still allowing the production of perhaps 10 - 25 kg of buoyancy when inflated, so further enhancing the acceptability of the personal buoyancy aid to many people indulging in water sports and who would not normally be prepared to carry or wear one of the known forms of buoyancy aid as discussed above.

Most preferably, the container of the person buoyancy aid of this invention is tubular, with one end of the container closed, and the other end defining the opening closed by the closure, which is in the form of a tubular cap. The container may be of circular tubular form, with the closure being similarly formed and having a plug portion which may be received within the open end of the container, whereby the container and its closure together may define a cylindrical tube of perhaps some 10 - 20 cms long and about 2 - 5 cms diameter.

Though the canister charged with compressed gas may be located in the container, it is preferred for the canister to be in the form of a gas cylinder positioned within the closure to the container. The closure may then also include both said valve and the operating means therefor, with the bladder being coupled directly to the closure, on the downsteam side of the valve. In this case, the operating means may be associated with the container such that the valve is held closed so long as the closure remains in position on the container, but on removing the closure from the container, the operating means is freed so opening the valve and allowing the gas cylinder to inflate the bladder.

One preferred form of operating means for the valve comprises at least one spring-loaded plunger connected to the valve and spring-urged to a position where the valve is open. By mounting the plunger on the closure so that the plunger is normally maintained by contact with a wall of the container in a valveclosed position against the spring bias, removal of the closure will allow the plunger to move under spring pressure to its valve-open position, so opening the valve and allowing compressed gas from the canister to inflate the bladder.

A tensioned resilient band may be provided around both the container and the closure for the opening thereinto, to hold the closure in position and so to prevent accidental removal of the closure and inflation of the bladder. Advantageously, the band is secured to the closure, such that when the buoyancy aid is to be used, the band may be slipped off the container and before the user pulls the closure away from the container, he may pass his hand through the loop formed by the band. In this way, the buoyancy aid will not float away from the user, who may thus obtain the benefit of the buoyancy aid provided by the aid.

When inflated, a bladder required to provide typically 20kg of buoyancy will have a volume of about 20 1. To gain optimum advantage from this, an immersed user when in difficulty and so requiring the buoyancy should hold the inflated bladder close to his chest with his arms around the bladder. To assist the user, the bladder may have at least one hand-hold, and preferably a series of such hand-holds therearound.

Conveniently, these may be provided by at least one endless strap which passes around the inflated bladder, and held to that bladder at a number of points along its length - for example, by being passed through loops secured to the bladder. Another possibility is be to provide a plurality = separate straps each secured to the bladder at spaced locations. On or more hand-holds may be provided in other ways, for the purpose of facilitating the grasping of the inflated bladder when the buoyancy aid is being used.

Preferably, sealing means are provided between the closure and the container, in order to prevent the ingress of water when the closure is in position. In the case of a tubular container with a closure in the form of a cap therefor, it is preferred for there to be one or more O-rings provided around the interfitting closure and container, to effect such a seal.

By way of example only, one specific embodiment of a personal buoyancy aid constructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention will now be described in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of the personal buoyancy aid, in its normal position; Figure 2 is an end view on the container illustrated in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a detailed view of the cap for the buoyancy aid; and Figure 4 is a further view of the buoyancy aid, but when inflated.

Referring initially to Figures 1 and 2 showing the personal buoyancy aid of this invention when in its normal, non-inflated condition, it can be seen that the aid comprises a tubular container 10 and a tubular cap 11 the external diameter of which is substantially the same as the external diameter of the container 10; when fitted together, the outer surfaces of the container and cap join smoothly one with the other. At the end of the cap 11 remote from the container there is provided a cross-bore 12, through which extends a resilient band 13, which may be tensioned to pass over end 14 of the container 10. As shown in Figure 2, end 14 of the container defines two grooves 15 and 16 extending at right angles.When the band 13 passes through groove 15, the tension in the band serves to hold the cap 11 securely in position on the container 10, but when the cap 11 is to be removed, to use the buoyancy aid, the band 13 may easily be slipped out of its groove 15 by a user pushing his finger along the other groove 16.

Attached to the side of the container 10 is a clip arrangement 17, defining slots 18 and a safety pin 19.

The container 10 may thus be mounted on a belt or strap by passing that belt or strap through one of the slots 18, or the container may be mounted on an item of clothing - such as a swimming costume - by means of the safety pin 19.

Packed within the container 10 is an inflatable bladder 20 (Figure 4) for instance manufactured from a rubberised textile material or from some other flexible and substantially impermeable material. It is of course important that the material from which the bladder is made is able to retain its air impermeability and flexibility for long periods of time, despite being folded and compressed into the relatively small space within the container 10.

The bladder includes a screw-threaded inflation port 21 which is threaded to a nipple 22 provided on a valve assembly 23 attached to a plug member 24 screwthreaded into the cap 11, as illustrated in Figure 3.

The cap 11 is hollow and a gas cylinder 25 is positioned therewithin, the cylinder 25 communicating with the valve assembly 23. The gas cylinder 25 may contain carbon dioxide under pressure, and so may be similar to that commercially available for the manufacture of carbonated drinks. Likewise, the coupling of the gas cylinder 25 to the valve assembly 23 may be effected in a similar manner as known in the art, for example by having the plug member 24 removably screw-threaded to the cap 11 to retain the cylinder in position and, during the last stage of tightening of the plug member 24 to the cap 11, to effect the connection of the cylinder to the valve assembly 23.

The external diameter of the plug member 24 should be slightly less than the internal diameter of tie container 10, such that the plug member may be received within the container, an O-ring 26 being disposed around the plug member, to effect a liquid-tight seal between the cap 11 and the container 10.

The valve assembly 23 has a pair of plungers 27, spring-urged to project radially outwardly from the positions illustrated in Figure 3. The plungers are connected to a valve internally within the assembly 23 such that when the plungers are in the position shown, the valve is maintained closed, but on the plungers moving radially outwardly, the valve is opened so allowing compressed gas within the cylinder 25 to flow out of the nipple 22. When the bladder is fitted to that nipple 22, the bladder will thus be inflated.

The plungers 27 are maintained in the position illustrated in Figure 3 by contact with the inner wall of the container 10 when the cap 11 is fitted thereto, as illustrated in Figure 1. When the personal buoyancy aid is to be used to provide buoyancy, the band 13 is slipped off end 14 of the container 10, and the cap 11 is pulled away from the container, for example by pulling on the band 13, so freeing the bladder away from the holder 10 and simultaneously releasing the plungers 27, to permit gas under pressure to flow from the cylinder 25 into the bladder 20, as illustrated in Figure 45. Upon inflation, the bladder may typically provide 20kg of buoyancy so assisting the user - such as a swimmer - to stay afloat until help arrives.

As illustrated in Figure 4, hand-holds may be provided around the bladder 20, which hand-holds are defined by an endless strap 30 extending around the bladder, the strap being locatea in position by means of a series of loops 31 attached to the bladder at intervals therearound. Using these straps, and possibly also the band 13, a user may hold the inflated bladder to his chest, so optimising the buoyancy provided thereby.

It will be appreciated that the personal buoyancy aid described above may be re-used, by removing plug member 24 from cap 11, replacing the gas cylinder 25, replacing the plug member 24 whilst maintaining the plungers 27 in their illustrated positions. Then bladder 20 may be refolded for insertion into the container 10 along with the replacement of the cap.

In the event that the bladder does not inflate on being released from the container, it would be possible for a user to unscrew the bladder from the nipple 22, and then to inflate the bladder by blowing into the inflation part 21, The part may for this purpose be fitted with a one-way valve, to prevent air leaving the bladder until the valve is deliberately released.

An advantage of the personal buoyancy aid as described above is that it may be made to have relatively small overall dimensions and may easily be carried by people wearing minimal clothing without in any way being obstructive when not in use. Also, since the aid does not provide any significant buoyancy until inflated the aid may easily be carried by people not normally requiring a buoyancy aid but who nevertheless may unexpectedly require assistance.

Claims

1. A personal buoyancy aid comprising a container having a removable closure for an opening thereinto; an inflatable bladder packed into the container and connected to the closure; a canister charged with compressed gas and connected to the bladder through a valve; and operating means coupled to said valve and associated with the container whereby removal of the closure from the container pulls the bladder from the container and causes the operating means automatically to operate the valve to inflate the bladder.

2. A personal buoyancy aid according to claim 1, wherein said container is tubular, one end of the container being closed, the other end defining said opening which is closed by the closure, and said closure being in the form of a tubular cap.

3. A personal buoyancy aid according to claim 2, wherein said container is of circular tubular form, with the closure being similarly formed and having a plug portion receivable within the open end of the container.

4. A personal buoyancy aid according to claim 3, wherein the container and its closure together define a cylindrical tube the length of which is in the range of 10 to 20 cms, and the diameter of which is in the range of 2 to 5 cms.

5. A personal buoyancy aid according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the canister charged with compressed gas is in the form of a gas cylinder positioned within the closure to the container.

6. A personal buoyancy aid according to claim 5, wherein said valve and said operating means therefor are incorporated within the closure, and the bladder is coupled directly to the closure on the downstream side of the valve.

7. A personal buoyancy aid according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the operating means is associated with the container such that the valve is held closed so long as the closure remains in position on the container, but on removing the closure from the container, the operating means is freed so opening the valve and allowing the gas cylinder to inflate the bladder.

8. A personal buoyancy aid according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said operating means for the valve comprises at least one spring-loaded plunger connected to the valve and spring-urged to a position where the valve is open, the plunger being mounted on the closure so that the plunger is normally maintained by contact with a wall of the container in a valveclosed position against the spring bias.

9. A personal buoyancy aid according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a tensioned resilient band is provided around both the container and the closure for the opening thereto, to hold the closure in position and so to prevent accidental removal of the closure and inflation of the bladder.

10. A personal buoyancy aid according to claim 9, wherein the band is secured to the closure, for use as a wrist band or hand-hold subsequent to removal of the closure.

11. A personal buoyancy aid according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the bladder has either one or a series of hand-holds secured thereto.

12. A personal buoyancy aid according to claim 11, wherein the or each hand-hold is provided by at least one endless strap which passes around the inflated bladder, and held to that bladder at a number of points along its length.

13. A personal buoyancy aid according to any of the preceding claims, wherein sealing means are provided between the closure and the container, in order to prevent the ingress of water when the closure is in position.

14. A personal buoyancy aid substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.