Life jacket with cushioning air-bag

A life jacket with a cushioning air-bag comprises a jacket body (1), which includes a continuous torso air-bag portion (7) having a chest air-bag portion (2), a back air-bag portion (3), and a side air-bag portion (4), and further includes a neck air-bag portion (5) and a waist air-bag portion (6). The jacket body is provided with a gas generator (8) having a gas cartridge. Each of the air-bag portions (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) has a dual structure composed of an outer bag (9) and an inner bag (10), which bags (9 and 10) are made of synthetic resin such as urethane or vinyl chloride. The gas generator (8) is connected to the outer bag (9) and inner bag (10) of each of the air bag portions (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 1. Field of the Invention
 This invention relates to a life jacket with a cushioning air-bag which can
 be used when a marine or land traffic emergency or accident has occurred.
 More particularly, it relates to a life jacket with a cushioning air-bag
 which can be used for easing an impact which would be imparted upon to a
 driver or a fellow rider of a motorcycle or a bicycle when such driver or
 rider of the motorcycle or bicycle should accidentally fall down during
 running.
 2. Prior Art
 A typical conventional life jacket with a cushioning air-bag of this type
 has cushioning air-bag portions each attached to corresponding regions of
 the chest and back of a life jacket body. The air-bag portions are
 attached with a gas cartridge for charging gas therein. A gas outlet port
 formed in the gas cartridge is in communication with the air-bag portions.
 The gas cartridge is attached with a manual gas generator for providing
 gas from the gas cartridge into the air-bag portions to inflate them for a
 cushioning purpose when an emergency or accident has occurred.
 However, the above conventional life jacket with a cushioning air-bag has
 the following shortcomings. Since the gas generator is very large and
 heavy, the jacket itself is heavy and bulky. Thus, it is inconvenient for
 the wearer to take it on or put it off. Moreover, the operation for
 generating gas is troublesome and time consuming, and the cushioning
 air-bag of the life jacket is weak and readily broken. In addition, it can
 protect only a part of an upper area of the wearer's body i.e., driver's
 body from an impact and cannot fully protect the entire upper area of the
 body.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 It is, therefore, a general object of the present invention to provide a
 life jacket with a cushioning air-bag which can instantaneously protect,
 when an emergency or accident has occurred, an entire upper area of the
 wearer's body such as the chest portion, the back portion, the side
 portion and the waist portion with a simple and easy operation made by the
 driver and/or the fellow rider furthermore, respective air-bag portions
 placed within the jacket body are of a duplex structure so that they are
 not easily broken by impact, thus preventing leakage of air gas.
 A life jacket with a cushioning air-bag according to the present invention
 comprises a jacket body, the jacket body being attached with a chest
 air-bag portion, a back air-bag portion, a side air-bag portion, a neck
 air-bag portion and a waist air-bag portion. The respective air-bag
 portions are each of a duplex structure composed of an outer bag and an
 inner bag. A gas generator having a gas cartridge is attached to a
 predetermined position of the jacket body. The gas generator is connected
 to the outer bags and the inner bags of the respective air-bag portions.
 The above and other objects, characteristic features and advantages of the
 present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by
 the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, as
 illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
 Reference numeral 1 denotes a jacket body such as a waistcoat, a vest, or a
 jumper. The jacket body 1 includes an inner liner having a continuous
 torso air-bag portion 7 integrally formed of a front chest air-bag portion
 2, a back air-bag portion 3 and a side air-bag portion 4.
 As shown in FIG. 7, the continuous torso air-bag portion 7 comprising the
 chest air-bag portion 2, a back air-bag portion 3 and a side air-bag
 portion 4 has a duplex structure composed of an outer bag 9 and an inner
 bag 10 which are formed of synthetic resin such as urethane and vinyl
 chloride. The outer bag 9 and the inner bag 10 composing the duplex
 structure are connected together by high frequency sealing, and they are
 attached to the jacket body 1. The continuous torso air-bag portion 7 is
 provided at one end thereof with a gas inlet port 11 for charging gas into
 the outer bag 9 and a gas inlet port 12 for charging gas into the inner
 bag 10. The continuous torso air-bag portion 7 is, when gas is charged
 therein, inflated to provide a cushioning function.
 A neck air-bag portion 5 shown in FIG. 3 is inserted into the interior of a
 scruff portion of the jacket body 1. It has a duplex structure composed of
 the outer bag 9 and the inner bag 10 which are made of synthetic resin
 such as urethane and vinyl chloride. The outer bag 9 and the inner bag 10
 composing the duplex structure are connected together by high frequency
 sealing, and they are attached to a scruff portion of the jacket body 1.
 The neck air-bag portion 5 is provided at one end thereof with a gas inlet
 port 11 for charging gas into the outer bag 9 and a gas inlet port 12 for
 charging gas into the inner bag 10.
 FIG. 5 shows a waist air-bag portion 6 which is to be placed on a lower
 portion of the back of the jacket body 1. The waist air-bag portion 6 has,
 like the neck air-bag portion 5, a duplex structure composed of the outer
 bag 9 and the inner bag 10 which are made of synthetic resin such as
 urethane and vinyl chloride. The waist air-bag portion 6 is provided at
 one end thereof with a gas inlet port 11 for charging gas into the outer
 bag 9 and a gas inlet port 12 for charging gas into the inner bag 10.
 The jacket body 1 is, as shown in FIG. 1, further provided at a
 predetermined position with a gas generator 8. The gas generator 8 is made
 of light-weight material such as stainless steel, aluminum, or synthetic
 resin. The gas generator 8 is connected to the gas inlet ports 11 and 12
 of the outer and inner bags 9 and 10 of the continuous torso air-bag
 portion 7, neck air-bag portion 5 and waist air-bag portion 6 through vent
 hoses 15 which are attached to a connecting piece 14 of FIG. 11.
 The gas generator 8 is provided with a movable spherical pin 18 connected
 with a connecting string 16 having a connecting ring 17 at its one end as
 shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. It is also provided with a gas cartridge 19
 filled therein with carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) and nitrogen gas (N.sub.2).
 The movable spherical pin 18 is in engagement with a sliding member 20
 attached to the gas cartridge 19. By pulling the connecting string 16, the
 movable spherical pin 18 is removed from a casing 21 of the gas generator
 8 so that the gas cartridge 19 biased by a spring 22 is caused to collide
 against a striker 23 to generate gas. The gas thus generated is charged
 into the respective air-bags 5, 6 and 7 from the nozzle 24 through the
 connecting piece 14 and through the vent hoses 15 so that the air-bags 5,
 6 and 7 can be inflated.
 If the connecting ring 17 attached, as shown in FIG. 12, to one end of the
 connecting string 16 of the gas generator 8, is connected to a vehicle
 such as a motorcycle or a bicycle, the connecting string 16 is pulled when
 a falling accident has occurred as a result, the gas generator 8 is
 automatically opened to generate gas. The gas thus generated is charged
 into the chest air-bag portion 2, the back air-bag portion 3, the side
 air-bag portion 4, the neck air-bag portion 5 and the waist air-bag
 portion 6 through the vent hoses 15. The respective air-bag portions 2, 3,
 4, 5 and 6 thus filled with gas are inflated to provide a cushioning
 function, thereby protecting the driver's body.
 The life jacket with a cushioning air-bag according to the present
 invention can automatically protect the driver's body by reliably easing
 an impact which is to be imparted to an entire upper area from the waist
 bone of the driver's body. Since the chest air-bag portion, the back
 air-bag portion and the side air-bag portion are integrally formed, they
 can easily be attached to the jacket body. Further, since the respective
 air-bag portions have a duplex structure each composed of an outer bag and
 an inner bag, they are hardly susceptible to leakage of gas even when an
 impact is applied thereto. Thus, the leakage of gas can be prevented so
 that a sufficient cushioning function is provided.
 Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention
 are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be
 understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may
 be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.