US3329982A - Life preserver - Google Patents

Description

P. J. ZANNONI LIFE PRESERVER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 15, 1965 July 11, 1967 P. .1. ZANNONI 3,

LIFE PRESERVER Filed June 15, 1965 S Sheets-Sheet 2 P. J. ZANNONI LIFE PRESERVER July 11, 1967 Shag-Sheet 3 Filed June 15. 1965 United States Patent 3,329,982 LIFE PRESERVER Peter J. Zannoni, Grantsville, W. Va., assignor to Rubber Fabricators, Inc, Grantsville, W. Va., a corporation of West Virginia Filed June 15, 1965, Ser. No. 464,030 6 Claims. (Cl. 9-338) This invention relates generally to life preservers and more particularly to an improved construction for a vest-type life preserver.

Conventional life preserver vests usually include a buoyant section adapted to be secured by an adjustable harness to the body of the wearer. The buoyant section is made up of at least two yoke-shaped separately inflatable cells, each cell being provided with an arcuate portion adapted to fit around the back of the wearers neck, and two leg members integral with the arcuate portion. The leg members fit snugly around the remainder of the wearers neck and then extend downwardly for a limited distance to overlie the wearers chest. The cells are arranged in a superimposed relationship and are joined together at selected points along their inner and outer edges, thus providing the buoyant section with a unitized construction. Once inflated: the buoyant cells maintain the wearers body in a generally vertical position in the water with the wearers .head supported well above the surface. This basic arrangement for life preserver vests is disclosed in a number of prior art patents, as for example US. Patent Nos. 2,621,342 and 3,002,203.

Although the above-described conventional life preserver constructions have proved generally satisfactory, experience now indicates that they all embody an undesirable feature which causes substantial discomfort to the wearer during extended periods of use. To explain, since the cells usually assume either a circular or oval cross section when fully expanded, interconnection of superimposed deflated cells along their inner or outer edges will naturally result in the cells coming into contact with one another during inflation. This mutual contact restrains normal cell expansion and causes the cells to distort and twist about the points of interconnection during inflation. In some instances, this twisting action may be desirable. For example, by interconnecting the leg members of the upper and lower cells along their inner edges, a restraining action is exerted upon inflation which causes the leg members to twist inwardly towards the center of the jacket. Thus, the leg members of the upper cell will come together on either side of the wearers head, holding it out of the water in a vertical position even though the wearer may be unconscious.

However, in contrast to the above-described benefit gained by causing the leg members to twist inwardly, any distortion of the cells caused by interconnection at their edges in the area behind the wearers neck will resuit in a force being exerted against the back of the wearers head. Experience has shown that a prolonged force of this type will cause serious discomfort to the wearer. This problem has not been solved by the prior art constructions, all of which rely on means for interconnecting the cells at their edges at points immediately to the rear of the wearers neck.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to connect the arcuate portions of the upper and lower inflatable cells behind the wearers neck in a way which will permit free expansion thereof during inflation of the life preserver. In this manner, distortion of the cells at points adjacent the rear of the wearers neck will be avoided and a considerable source of discomfort obviated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means for interconnecting the arcuate portions of the .flange extending around the upper and lower cells in a manner which will permit the superimposed relationship thereof to remain undisturbed during inflation of the life preserver.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved means for interconnecting the arcuate portions of the upper and lower inflatable cells, which means will allow a space to exist between the cells when they are fully inflated.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a simple and economical means of interconnecting the arcuate portions of the upper and lower inflatable cells.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means for interconnecting the arcuate portions of upper and lower inflatable cells at points intermediate the inner and outer edges thereof, thus permitting unrestricted expansion of said arcuate portions during inflation of the life preserver.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent as the description proceeds with the aid of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view with portions broken away of a life preserver vest incorporating the novel features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the inflated life preserver vest applied to a person in the water;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the life preserver vest in an inflated condition taken along line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the ability of the intermediate web member to compensate for horizontal displacement of one inflatable cell relative to the other;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing an alternate embodiment of the invention wherein the intermediate web member is connected directly to the opposed surfaces of the upper and lower inflatable cells;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 of another alternate embodiment of the invention wherein the upper.

harness strap is attached directly to the intermediate web member;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6 showing still another alternate embodiment of the invention wherein the upper harness strap is secured between adjacent surfaces of the upper and lower cells; and,

FIGS. 8a and 8b are diagrammatic sectional views of a reduced scale taken through the leg members showing the relative positions of the leg members before and after inflation.

Referring initially to FIGS. 1 and 2, a vest type life preserver generally indicated by the reference numeral 10 is comprised basically of a buoyant section A having a harness assembly B associated therewith. The buoyant section A includes upper and lower yoke shaped cells 12 and 14, each preferably constructed of matching sheets 16a and 16b (see FIG. 3) of impervious material such as rubberized nylon. The sheets are joined at their inner and outer edges as at 18 and 20 to provide a continuous periphery of the cell.

The cells 12 and 14 are each shaped to provide an arcuate portion 22 having integrally fabricated leg members 24a and 24b extending in a generally parallel relationship therefrom. The leg members 24 cooperate with arcuate portion 22 to define a central open-ing 26 of suflicient diameter to accept the head of a wearer when the life preserver is in a deflated condition.

Both upper and lower cells 12 and 14 are separately inflated by means of compressed gas cylinders 28a and 28b contained in suitably shaped pockets 30. The cylinders are provided with valves 32 capable of being actuated by pulling lanyards 34 to release gas directly into the interior of the cells. An alternate means of inflating the cells is provided by flexible tubes 36a and 36b, each of which is provided at its outer end with a one-way valve 38. Thus, should the compressed gas cylinders fail to inflate the cells or, should the cells require further inflation following exhaustion of the gas supply in the cylinders, a user may orally inflate the life preserver by making use of tubes 36a and 36b.

As can be further seen in FIG. 1, harness B is comprised basically of a body engaging strap 40, the ends of which extend through buckles 41 connected to an intermediate strap section 42. Pull-tabs 44 are connected to the ends of body strap 40, thus providing the wearer with a means of adjusting the effective length of body strap 40 by simply pulling on the tabs 44.

A lower connecting strap 46 is looped at one end around intermediate strap section 42 and connected at the other end to the leg members 24a and 24b of both upper and lower cells 12 and 14. As can be seen in FIG. 8a, prior to inflation of the cells, the superimposed leg members 24a and 24b will lie in two substantially parallel planes. However, inflation of the cells will cause the leg members to expand and come into contact with each other at their points of maximum thickness as at 48. As shown in FIG. 8b, this mutual contact between upper and lower leg members together with the restraining action being exerted by the lower connecting strap 46 which is connected to'the inner cell edges 18, will cause the leg members 24a and 24b of upper cell 12 to twist inwardly and upwardly towards the center of the life preserver. As can be partially seen in FIG. 2, this upward twisting of theleg members on the upper cell is advantageous in that it brings the leg members into contact with the sides of the wearers face, thus keeping his head vertical and lifted even though 'he becomes unconscious. It can therefore be seen that lower connecting strap 46 serves the dual function of connecting harness B to buoyant section A while at the same time providing a means of permanently interconnecting the inner edges 18 of both pairs of leg members 24a and 24b.

As can be best seen in FIGS. 2-7, a second point of interconnection is provided between the arcuate portions 22 of upper and lower cells 12 and 14 in an area somewhat to the rear of central opening 26. In FIGS. 2,

3 and 4, this second point of connection is effected by use of an intermediate web member 50. The web member is attached at its upper end as at 52 (see FIG. 3) to the lower surface of cell 12 at a point approximately midway between the inner and outer edges 18 and 20 thereof. The lower end of web 59 is similarly attached as at 53 to the upper surface of a wide flexible band 54, the latter being permanently secured to the upper surface of cell 14. Band 14 extends downwardly over the outer edge 20 of cell 14 to terminate in a seam 56 through which the body engaging strap 40 of harness B is passed. Since flexible band 54 is permanently joined to the upper surface of cell 14, it can be seen that the lower end of intermediate web 50 is in effect also connected to the lower cell 14 at a point approximately midway the inner and outer edges 18 and 20 thereof. Alternate examples of similar means for interconnecting the arcuate portions 22 of upper and lower cells 12 and 14 are illustrated in FIGS. -7. In FIG. 5, the lower end of Web member 51 is connected as at 58 directly to the upper surface of lower cell 14. In, this embodiment, the flexible band 54 has been joined to the upper surface of cell 14 at a joint to the rear of web 50. In FIG. 6, flexible band 54 is joined directly to intermediate web member 50, the latter again being connected at both ends to the opposed surfaces of upper and lower cells 12 and 14 at 'points intermediate the inner and outer edges 18 and 20 thereof. In FIG. 7, the intermediate web member 50 has been omitted and the opposed surface of upper and lower cells 12 and 14 joined directly to the upper and lower surfaces of flexible band 54 with the points of connection between the cells and band 54 again being approximately midway between the inner and outer peripheral edges 18 and 20.

feature resides in the fact that by interconnecting the cells in this manner, their subsequent expansion in this area during inflation is totally unrestricted. Thus, in contrast to leg members 24a and 24b, the arcuate portion 22 of upper cell 12 to the rear of central opening 26 will not be twisted or distorted during inflation of the life preserver. Consequently, undue pressure will not be exerted on the head of the wearer.

Under certain conditions, where the design of the life preserver is such that upon inflation, the upper and lower cells will undergo some relative horizontal shifting, the use of a web member 50 may be desirable in order to provide a means of accommodating this relative horizontal movement. As shown in FIG. 4, the web member will permit slight horizontal movement of one cell relative to the other while at the same time maintaining an adequate holding action therebetween. However, where the design of the life preserver is such that movement of this type is not encountered, the cells may. be joined together directly, or in the alternative, to either 1. A life saver vest comprising the combination of: 7

two superimposed yoke-shaped inflatable cells, each said cells having an arcuate section adapted to surround the back of a wearers neck with two generally parallel integral leg members extending from said arcuate section to overlie the wearers chest; a first connecting means for permanently joining the adjacent inner edges of said leg members together; a second connecting means for joining the arcuate sections of said cells in a manner permitting the free expansion-thereof during inflation, said second connecting means including a flexible web member attached at opposite ends to adjacent opposed sur-' faces of each said arcuate sections at points intermediate the inner and outer edges thereof; means for separately inflating each said cells; and harness means for attaching said interconnected cells to a wearers body.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said harness means is connected at one end to said web memher and at the other end to the inner joined edges of said leg members.

3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said web member is of a length sufficient to permit the opposed adjacent surfaces of said arcuate sections to assume a spaced relationship when said cells are in- '4. A life saver vest comprising the combination of;

two superimposed yoke-shaped inflatable cells, each said cells having an arcuate section adapted to surround the a back of a wearers neck with two generally parallel in-' arcuate sections to provide a point of interconnection intermediate the inner and outer edges thereof, whereby upon inflation of said cells, the arcuate section will expand freely without twisting relative to each other while the expansion of the leg members is restrained at the inner edges by the holding action exerted by said lower strap.

5. 'In a life preserver of the type provided with at least two superimposed inflatable cells, each said cells having a pair of generally parallel leg members joined at one end by an integrally fabricated intermediate arcuate section, the arcuate sections and leg members of said superimposed cells cooperating to define a neck receiving opening, means for joining said cells in a manner which will permit the superimposed relationship of said arcuate sections at the rear of said neck receiving opening to expand without twisting relative to each other, said means comprising at least one Web member connecting the adjacent opposed surfaces of said arcuate sections, the ends of said web member being attached to said surfaces at points intermediate the inner and outer edges thereof.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said web member is of sufiicient length to allow the adjacent surfaces of said arc-uate sections to assume a spaced relationship When said cells are inflated.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,302,823 5/1919 Marcovsky 9340 X 2,621,342 12/1952 Boyle 9-338 3,022,203 10/1961 Moran 9-338 3,117,326 l/1964 Bernhardt 9333 MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

15 T. W. BUCK-MAN, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A LIFE SAVER VEST COMPRISING THE COMBINATION OF: TWO SUPERIMPOSED YOKE-SHAPED INFLATABLE CELLS, EACH SAID CELLS HAVING AN ARCUATE SECTION ADAPTED TO SURROUND THE BACK OF A WEARER''S WEARER''S NECK WITH TWO GENERALLY PARALLEL INTEGRAL LEG MEMBERS EXTENDING FROM SAID ARCUATE SECTION TO OVERLIE THE WEARER''S CHEST; A FURST CONNECTING MEANS FOR PERMANENTLY JOINING THE ADJACENT INNER EDGES OF SAID LEG MEMBERS TOGETHER; A SECOND CONNECTING MEANS FOR JOINING THE ARCUATE SECTIONS OF SAID CELLS IN A MANNER PERMITTING THE FREE EXPANSION THEREOF DURING INFLATION, SAID SECOND CONNECTING MEANS INCLUDING A FLEXIBLE WEB MEMBER ATTACHED AT OPPOSITE ENDS TO ADJACENT OPPOSED SURFACES OF EACH SAID ARCUATE SECTIONS AT POINTS INTERMEDIATE THE INNER AND OUTER EDGE THEREOF; MEANS FOR SEPARATELY INFLATING EACH SAID CELLS; AND HARNESS MEANS FOR ATTACHING SAID INTERCONNECTED CELLS TO A WEARER''S BODY.

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