Abstract:
A life vest with a rescue handle located on the back side thereof. The rescue handle has a flange located at the lower end thereof, the flange being attached to the back side of the life vest with the rescue handle extending substantially vertically upwards. The rescue handle is attached to the back side of the life vest in a manner adapted to support the weight of a user. The rescue handle has a non-loop shape that eliminates the potential for entanglement with objects in the water.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/601,041, filed Aug. 31, 2012, and entitled “Life Vest with Rescue Handle,” (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,672,720), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/584,964, filed Sep. 14, 2009, and entitled “Life Vest with Rescue Handle,” (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,262,426), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a life vest having a rescue handle that can be grabbed by a rescuer to assist in lifting the wearer from a body of water. 
     Life vests are a type of flotation device intended to keep the wearer on the surface of a body of water, either while swimming or after accidentally falling into the water from a water craft. Such vests are more often used by younger swimmers or boaters, and are often required by law for such persons. In the event the wearer requires rescuing by being pulled from the water it is often difficult to find a place to be able to grab and lift the person or vest, particularly if the wearer is floating on his/her stomach. 
     Life vests for dogs are commercially available which include a loop-type handle on the back of the vest to allow a dog wearing the vest to be lifted from the water. However, such loops are prohibited on life vests to be used by humans because of the danger of the loop becoming snagged on fallen trees, etc., located in the water. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a life vest with a rescue handle. 
     The rescue handle has a flange located at the lower end thereof, the flange being attached to the back side of a life vest in a manner adapted to support the weight of a wearer. The rescue handle has a shape that eliminates the potential for entanglement with objects in the water. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an elevation view of the back side of a life vest with rescue handle of the present invention where the handle is in the shape of a fish fin; 
         FIG. 2  is a partial side elevation view the life vest with rescue handle taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the rescue handle prior to attachment to a life vest; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-section view of the rescue handle taken along line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a partial side elevation view of the life vest with rescue handle where the handle has a rectangular shape and includes a lift assist member; and 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-section view of the rescue handle of  FIG. 5  taken along line  5 - 5 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The life vest with rescue handle  10  includes a life vest portion  20  and a handle subassembly  40  attached to the back side  22  thereof, as described in more detail below. 
     The life vest portion  20  includes a back side  22 , left and right arm openings  26  and  26 ′, a collar portion  28 , upper and lower horizontal waist straps  30  and  32  (only the rear portions being shown), and left and right leg straps  34  and  36  (only the rear portions being shown). The front ends of upper and lower horizontal waist straps  30  and  32  (not shown) and left and right leg straps  34  and  36  (not shown), have attachment means such as buckles, as well known in the life vest art. The front left and front right sides of the vest portion  20  (not shown) can be removably attached together, such as by a zipper, as well known in the life vest art. 
     The handle subassembly  40  includes a rescue handle  42  adapted to be grasped by a rescuer. In the drawings handle  42  is shaped like a fish fin, such as a shark fin, for life vests to be used by children in swimming situations. However, rescue handle  42  can have other non-loop shapes that are not subject to entanglement with objects in the water, such as the rectangular shape shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . 
     Rescue handle  42  extends upwardly from a base or flange  44 . The major planes of rescue handle  42  and flange  44  are substantially perpendicular to each other. Rescue handle  42  and flange  44  are preferably molded as a single piece by rotational molding of a suitable polymeric material, such as polyvinyl chloride. However, rescue handle  42  could be molded separately and welded to a flange  44 . Preferably rescue handle  42  is hollow (as best seen in  FIG. 4 ), and formed of a flexible polymeric material that is able to bend when the wearer sits in a chair. Flange  44  can contain reinforcing material such as fibers. 
     A reinforcing membrane  45  is preferably attached to the bottom of flange  44  to provide added strength. Reinforcing membrane can be formed of any suitable material, such as polyvinyl chloride sheet impregnated with reinforcing material or nylon webbing, and can be attached to flange  44  by any suitable means such as sewing and/or heat welding. 
     Life vest portion  20  is formed of two layers of fabric, such as ballistic nylon, neoprene, or other material, and includes an outer layer  23  and an inner layer  24 , as best seen in  FIG. 2 . A flotation panel  27  is positioned between outer and inner layers  23 ,  24 , in a manner well known in the art. An elongated opening  25  is located in the upper mid-portion of that portion of outer layer  23  forming the back  22 , with rescue handle  42  extending upwardly there through. A substantial portion of the upper surface of flange  44  abuts that portion of the lower surface of the outer layer  23  located adjacent opening  25 . Flange  44  and attached reinforcing membrane  45  are attached to that area of the lower surface of outer layer  23  located adjacent opening  25  of outer layer  23  by any suitable attachment means, such as stitches  46 ,  46 ′, prior to outer and inner layers  23  and  24  being joined together to form life vest portion  20 . The stitches  46 ,  46 ′ may pass through vertical strap portion  35  for added strength. The area and thickness of flange  44 , and the stitching and stitching pattern, are selected to provide a strength of attachment of rescue handle to back  22  of life vest portion  20  that will support lifting a wearer which, in the case of a youngster would be up to about 150 pounds, and in the case of an adult up to about 300 pounds. 
     Reinforcing membrane  45  can be substantially the same size as flange  44 , or it can extend beyond flange  44  up to an area including the entire back side  22  of vest  20  in order to increase the lifting capacity of handle subassembly  40 . 
       FIGS. 5 and 6  show a handle subassembly  140  which includes a rescue handle  142 , flange  144 , reinforcing membrane  145 , and a lift assist member  148 . Rescue handle  142  has a rectangular shape. 
     Rescue handle  142  extends upwardly from a base or flange  144 . The major planes of rescue handle  42  and flange  44  are substantially perpendicular to each other. Rescue handle  142  and flange  144  are preferably molded as a single piece by rotational molding of a suitable polymeric material, such as polyvinyl chloride. However, rescue handle  142  could be molded separately and welded to a flange  144 . Preferably rescue handle  142  is hollow (as best seen in  FIG. 6 ), and formed of a flexible polymeric material that is able to bend when the wearer sits in a chair. 
     A reinforcing membrane  145  is attached to the bottom of flange  144  to provide added strength. Reinforcing membrane can be formed of any suitable material, such as polyvinyl chloride sheet impregnated with reinforcing material or nylon webbing, and can be attached to flange  44  by any suitable means such as sewing and/or heat welding. 
     A lift assist member  148  is positioned within and attached to the upper end of hollow rescue handle  142 , and preferably is a cylindrical member formed of a polymeric or elastomeric foam material. Preferably lift assist member  148  extends substantially from the front to the rear of hollow rescue handle  142 . A similar lift assist member could be located within rescue handle  42 . 
     The term “life vest” as used herein is intended to include any type of flotation assistance device to which the rescue handle described herein can be attached, such as “swim assist vests” and solid foam life jackets. 
     It will be obvious to those having skill in the art that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments of this invention without departing from the underlying principles thereof. The scope of the present invention should, therefore, be determined only by the following claims.