Patent ID: 8291899
Filing Date: 2012-10-23
Classification: B63C

Abstract:
1. A snorkel comprising: a breath conduit extending in a vertical direction; a mouthpiece mounted on a lower end of said breath conduit; a breath opening port formed in an upper end section of said breath conduit; a valve mounted on the upper end section of said breath conduit to open and to close said breath opening port from outside; a first float and a second float adapted to move in said vertical direction when given buoyancy to actuate said valve to close said breath opening port and thereby to prevent water from flowing into said breath conduit; said valve being mounted, in a pivotal manner in said vertical direction, on an outer surface of a peripheral wall of said breath conduit by intermediary of arms integral with said valve so that said valve rotate downward in said vertical direction to maintain said breath opening port in its open state as long as said upper end section of said breath conduit is exposed above water surface; said first float and said second float allocated circumferentially of said breath conduit and housed, in a movable manner in said vertical direction, inside a housing provided outside said upper end section of said breath conduit and having an annular cross-sectional shape in a diametric sectional view of said breath conduit; said housing including water passages allowing water to flow thereinto when said housing is submerged below said water surface and gives said first float and said second float buoyancy, respectively, so that said first float and said second float may individually move upward in said vertical direction and, when said housing is exposed above said water surface, allowing said first float and said second float to move downward individually under their own weight; and said arms being thereby rotated upward so as to actuate said valve to close said breath opening port, when any one of said first float and said second float is given said buoyancy and moves upward in said vertical direction; and said first float and said second float are separately adjacent to each other about a center line of said valve bisecting said valve in the circumferential direction of said breath conduit, wherein each of said first float and said second float is formed with a rib adapted to contact with the inner surface of the peripheral wall defining said housing and a rib adapted to contact with said upper end section of the breath conduit.