Abstract:
An insulated flotation garment that has an insulating element and a flotation element bonded together by perimeter stitching to protect persons by keeping them warm and preventing them from being submerged in cold water.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     Insulated flotation garments are intended to be worn by persons on boats during cold weather. They contain insulation to keep the wearer warm and they contain a flotation element that provides buoyancy to keep the wearer afloat when in the water. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Occupants of fishing boats, and others interested in surviving in cold water, have worn immersion suits to protect them if they accidentally fall in the water. The immersion suits are water-tight and serve the purpose of preventing water from reaching the clothing or body of the wearer, but they are heavy and cumbersome Heavy and cumbersome slickers are also worn by occupants of fishing boats. 
     Persons interested in surviving in water have also used flotation materials having a plurality of air pockets to provide buoyancy. One such flotation material is made by Uniroyal and sold under the trademark ENSOLITE. A flotation garment lined with ENSOLITE is effective in keeping a person afloat, but the ENSOLITE material has been found to be not suitable for the flotation element of this invention because it is not suitable for lamination. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The principal components of an insulated flotation garment made in accordance with this invention are an insulation element and a flotation element. 
     The preferred insulation for the insulation element is sold under the trademark LAMILITE by Wiggy&#39;s, Inc., 2842 Industrial Boulevard, Grand Junction, Colo. 81505, and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,055. 
     The preferred flotation element comprises a flotation foam, which is a thin layer of low density polyethylene with a large number of tiny air pockets. That thin layer of low density polyethylene is laminated to a ripstop nylon shell. The complete flotation element has a thickness of one millimeter (1 mm). 
     The ripstop nylon shell of the flotation element is laminated to the insulation. The ripstop nylon shell material is urethane coated to male it water proof, and is laminated to the flotation foam. Perimeter stitching joins the edges of the flotation element with the edges of the insulation element. 
     The combined insulation and flotation elements are sewn into garments such as jackets, long pants, short pants, one piece suits, and vests. Mesh is preferably provided at the base of each garment to allow the water that gets into the garment to empty out easily when the wearer is out of the water. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the environment of the invention by showing a person wearing an insulated flotation jacket and insulated flotation long pants floating face up on a body of water; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line  2 — 2  in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an insulated flotation vest on a person shown in dotted lines; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an insulated flotation pair of shorts on a person shown in dotted lines; and 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view, with parts broken away and omitting the insulation and air bubbles for clarity, to show the connection of the flotation element with the insulating element by perimeter stitching. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring more specifically to the drawings, two insulated flotation garments are indicated at  10  and  10 A in FIG.  1 . The insulated flotation garment  10  is a parka and the insulated flotation garment  10 A is long pants. FIG. 3 shows an insulated flotation garment made in the shape of a vest  10 B, and FIG. 4 shows an insulated flotation garment made as short pants  10 C. As illustrated in FIG. 2, each of the insulated flotation garments shown in FIGS. 1,  3 , and  4  comprises an insulation element  11  and a flotation element  12 . It is within the spirit and intent of the invention to make insulated floating garments of any desired shape with an insulation element  11  and a flotation element  12 , and the reference numeral  10  is used hereafter to refer to a garment of any shape made with an insulation element  11  and a flotation element  12 . 
     The insulation element  11  is preferably insulation of the type described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,055, issued Mar. 20, 1990 to Jerald N. Wigutow for INSULATED SLEEPING BAG. More specifically, the insulation element  11  preferably comprises at least one layer of unbonded and unquilted silicon treated continuous filament fibers and outer layers of chopped staple synthetic fibers intermixed with the continuous filament fibers. The insulation element  11  includes a fabric liner  13  formed of nylon taffeta or the like. The fabric liner  13  is joined by adhesive (not shown) to the fibers on the side of the insulation element  11  opposite the flotation element of each insulated flotation garment. 
     The flotation element  12  comprises a thin layer of low density polyethylene  14  with a large number of tiny air pockets  15 , there being approximately 200,000 air pockets in some of the larger insulated flotation garments of this invention. The thin layer of low density polyethylene  14  is laminated to a shell layer of nylon  16 . The complete flotation element  12  has a thickness of one millimeter (1 mm). The layer  14 , with the air pockets, becomes the outer surface of each of the insulated flotation garments. 
     The insulation element  11  and the flotation element  12  are sewn together by perimeter stitching  17  (FIG. 5) that extends around the marginal edges of those two elements. 
     When a person wearing an insulated flotation garment of this invention is in the water W, as in FIG. 1, water enters the garment through the perimeter stitching and saturates the insulation  11 . The insulation is formed of synthetic fibers that do not absorb the water and do not restrict movement of the wearer. Some water may get in the space between the garment  10  and the body of the wearer. Substantially all water that enters through the perimeter stitching  17  remains in the garment. 
     The water that enters through the perimeter stitching  17  and remains in the garment  10  is heated by the body temperature of the wearer. The heated water is insulated from outside temperature by the insulation element  11  and warms the body of the wearer. 
     A person wearing the insulated flotation garments  10  and  10 A, as shown in FIG. 1, will float face-up when in the water. This is believed to be caused by the large number of tiny air pockets in the flotation element  12  that are uniformly distributed about the wearer&#39;s body. 
     There is thus provided a durable and effective garment for sustaining a person in the water. 
     Although specific terms have been used in describing the invention, they have been used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the following claims.