Personal flotation device

An improved personal flotation device is disclosed. The personal flotation device comprises a shirt with sleeves, a torso flotation pad attached to the shirt and positioned around a user's torso, and two flotation sleeves attached to the shirt's sleeves on a user's arms. The torso flotation pad comprises a front flotation pad which is raised above the midriff area of the user and two graduated side pads which are wrapped around a user's torso. The raised position of the front flotation pad keeps a user's center of buoyancy above the user's center of gravity, raising the user higher up out of the water and preventing the user from flipping over into the water. The flotation sleeves are positioned high on a user's arms to further increase a user's freeboard while permitting freedom of movement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to personal flotation devices, and more particularly to wearable personal flotation devices. Personal flotation devices are commonly used to keep children or novice swimmers safe in the water by keeping the user afloat. Personal flotation devices are generally worn on the body, and add buoyancy to keep a user above water. However, problems can occur where the buoyancy provided by the personal flotation device may cause the user to be unbalanced and uncomfortable in the water. Where a user's center of gravity and center of buoyancy are greatly misaligned, a personal flotation device may even cause a user to flip over into the water and make it difficult for the user to get back upright, endangering the user. It can readily be appreciated that there is a need for a personal flotation device that keeps a user safe and upright in the water while still allowing for a comfortable range of movement. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention may be embodied in a personal flotation device comprising a shirt having two sleeves; a front flotation pad attached to the shirt and positioned on a user's torso; and two flotation sleeves, each flotation sleeve attached to one of the shirt's two sleeves. The front flotation pad is positioned above the user's midriff (waist or stomach) such that the user's center of buoyancy is positioned at or above the user's center of gravity.

In one aspect of this embodiment, the front flotation pad may comprise a buoyant foam encased in a water-resistant fabric. Similarly, the two flotation sleeves may each comprise a buoyant foam encased in a water-resistant fabric.

The shirt may comprise a stretch fabric, such as spandex or the synthetic fiber sold under the trademark Lycra.

In a preferred embodiment, the two flotation sleeves may be positioned on a user's upper arm. In a more specific aspect, the shirt may comprise two armholes where the two sleeves are attached to the shirt, and the distance from each armhole to the flotation sleeve may be approximate 0.5-2.0 inches. The distance from a top edge of the front flotation pad to the armhole may be approximately 2-6 inches.

In another aspect, the shirt may further comprise a securing means positioned on a back side of the shirt to secure the shirt around a user. The securing means may comprise any appropriate means, some known examples of which include a zipper, buckle, hook-and-loop fastener (e.g., Velcro), buttons, laces, hooks, magnets, and the like.

The personal flotation device may further comprise two side pads attached to opposite ends of the front flotation pad to wrap around a user's torso.

The present invention may also be embodied in a personal flotation device comprising a shirt having two sleeves, the shirt comprising a stretchable, water-resistant fabric; a front flotation pad attached to the shirt and positioned on a user's torso; two side flotation pads positioned on opposite sides of the front flotation pad and configured to be wrapped around a user's torso; and two flotation sleeves, each flotation sleeve attached to one of the shirt's two sleeves and positioned on the user's upper arms. The front flotation pad is positioned such that the user's center of buoyancy is positioned at or above the user's center of gravity.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention resides in a personal flotation device that can be worn by a user. A front elevational view of a personal flotation device10in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown inFIG. 1, and a rear elevational view of the personal flotation device10is shown inFIG. 2. The personal flotation device10includes a shirt12with sleeves14. A torso flotation pad16is attached to the shirt12and is configured to wrap around the torso of a user. Two flotation sleeves18are attached to the sleeves14, and wrap around the arms of the user. The personal flotation device10can be worn by a user by wearing the shirt12and then closing a zipper26in the back of the shirt.

In the depicted embodiment, the torso flotation pad16comprises an encased front flotation pad20and graduated side pads22. The front flotation pad20comprises a flotation foam encased in fabric (e.g., neoprene, nylon, spandex, the synthetic fiber sold under the trademark Lycra, etc.) and sewn to the front of the shirt12. The graduated side pads22, also comprising encased flotation foams, are attached to the front flotation pad20and wrap around the user's torso to the user's back. The graduated side pads22are then buckled together in the back using a buckle24. The size of the user may be accommodated by adjusting straps attached to the buckle24.

FIGS. 3A and 3Bprovide front and rear views, respectively, of a user wearing the personal flotation device10to demonstrate the placement of the different components of the personal flotation device10relative to a user's body.

The front flotation pad20is raised upward from the midriff (waist or stomach) area28to permit congruity between the wearer's center of gravity30and center of buoyancy32. The raised foam placement permits the wearer to maintain a substantially perpendicular angle to the water, which encourages upright stability. Further, the raised front flotation pad20keeps the user's center of buoyancy at or above the user's center of gravity, which helps to keep the user's head above water and prevents the user from flipping over into the water.

The flotation sleeves18comprise buoyant foam encased in a fabric material (e.g., neoprene, nylon, spandex, the synthetic fiber sold under the trademark Lycra, etc.) that is sewn to the sleeves14and positioned on the upper portion of a wearer's arm. Through this placement of the flotation sleeves18, the wearer's anatomical congruity raises the user higher out of the water, increasing the wearer's freeboard, i.e., the distance between the edges of the wearer's mouth to the water. Higher placement out of the water reduces the wearer's likelihood of ingesting water. This is particularly true when a user is performing a waving action, which might be used to indicate struggle or need for assistance, but can lead to a lowering of the user's body into the water and ingestion of water. The placement of the flotation sleeves18high on the wearer's arm increases the wearer's freeboard while simultaneously permitting freedom of movement in the water.

In more particular embodiments, the distance between the front flotation pad20and the flotation sleeves18may be from 2.5 to 8 inches. This distance comprises the distance from the top of the front flotation pad20to the shirt12's arm hole, which may be from 2 to 6 inches, and the distance from the arm hole to the edge of the flotation sleeve18, which may be from 0.5 to 2 inches.

The shirt12may be made of a stretch fabric such as spandex or the synthetic fiber sold under the trademark Lycra, which permits the wearer's anatomical shape to be accommodated by the fabric directly instead of having to rely upon the personal flotation device10's adjustment means to secure the wearer. The stretch fabric may also provide an added benefit of providing sunburn protection for the wearer. In a preferred embodiment, the fabric provides sunburn protection of SPF 30 or above and, even more ideally, SPF 50 or higher.

The positioning of the zipper26and the buckle24on the wearer's back provides an added safety feature in that young children wearing the personal flotation device10cannot undo the buckle or the zipper. While a buckle24and a zipper26have been shown to secure the personal flotation device10on a user, it should be understood that any securing means may be used to accomplish this purpose. Numerous methods for securing a personal flotation device are known. Some examples include hook-and-loop fastener (e.g., Velcro), buttons, zippers, buckles, laces, hooks, magnets, and the like.

Although the invention has been disclosed with reference only to presently preferred embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications can be made without departing from the invention. The specification and figures are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. As such, the present invention is defined only by the following claims and recited limitations.