Patent Publication Number: US-6220490-B1

Title: Drinking vest

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/120,754, filed Feb. 18, 1999. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a vest that holds and dispenses drinkable liquid to the person wearing the vest. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Portable liquid dispensers are known in the related art. Some portable liquid dispensers are strapped to an individual and allow him to drink liquids when it might not otherwise be convenient to stop the activity in which the person is engaged. Conventional harnessing arrangements for portable liquid dispensers provide for liquid dispensers which can be suspended from the shoulders, either in a knapsack configuration or with a liquid storage means being near or against the stomach of the person wearing the portable liquid dispenser. 
     Suspension of the liquid storing means from the shoulders may be a satisfactory means of supporting the liquid storing means during leisure activity. However, such a means of suspension is far from satisfactory during vigorous activity. The shoulder straps bear down upon the bursa, the deltoid muscles and the clavicles, and also cause compression of the tissues associated with the neck and the shoulders. This pressure restricts blood flow and may also cause pressure on the nerves leading to the upper limbs. Friction between the straps and the skin because of continuous movement of the bursa, deltoid, trapezia and the splenius muscles in this region, as a result of vigorous exercise, may cause intense chafing of the skin. Attempts have been made to attend to this chafing. For instance, shoulder pads have been provided between the straps and the skin. These pads have proven unsatisfactory, because they do not position well on the shoulders, are displaceable, and in many instances merely transfer points of chafing. 
     In vigorous exercise, e.g., canoeing and long distance running, liquid storage means near or against the stomach restrict free movement of the muscles near the stomach and abdomen and cause chaffing from a bloating effect when the liquid storage means is full or near capacity. 
     Several related art patents disclose liquid dispensers, such as Osborne, U.S. Pat. No. 2,013,358 which describe a liquid storage dispenser which is suspended from the shoulder and Carnel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,573 which describe a liquid storage dispenser with a liquid storage means near the wearer&#39;s stomach. The related art discloses liquid dispenser means creating pressure points on the body where the liquid storage means is suspended and allowing the liquid contents of the liquid storing means to be irregularly displaced. This can clearly cause a lot of discomfort. 
     None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is a portable holder for drinking liquid in the shape of a vest. The vest has a front section and back section with tubing filled with drinking liquid, the tubing of the front and rear sections being connected by a twist lock coupler; liquid drains from the back of the vest to the front of the vest. Each section has molded sinuous tubing that can be filled and vented from the top of the vest. The vest also allows the wearer to drink the drinking liquid through a drinking tube while wearing the vest. There is also a drainage tube on the vest provided with a screw cap that is concealed by a tongue and groove fastener. Each section is also held together on the side of the vest by a hook and loop fastener. 
     Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a portable holder for drinking liquid in the shape of a vest. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a vest-configured drink holder made of front and back sections, with tubing for liquid in each section, the tubing of one section connected to the tubing of the other by a quick disconnect coupling. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide a vest-configured drink holder which is dimensioned and configured to be comfortably worn and does not chafe the wearer&#39;s skin. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes. 
     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a drinking vest according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the drinking vest shown in FIG. 1, and drawn to an enlarged scale. 
     FIG. 3 is a left side elevational view of the drinking vest. 
     FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the drinking vest. 
     FIG. 5 is a detail view of the telescoping drinking tube for the drinking vest. 
     FIG. 6 is a detail view of the pliable drinking tube assembly for the drinking vest. 
     FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a twist lock coupler for the drinking vest. 
     FIG. 8 is a detail view of the vest drainage tube. 
     FIG. 9 is a detail view of the vest air vent and fill hole. 
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is a vest  10  that holds and dispenses drinkable liquid to the person wearing the vest  10 , as illustrated in FIG.  1 . The vest  10  is made of an exterior layer and an interior layer, with internal molded sinuous tubing for holding drinkable liquid kept between the exterior layer and interior layer of the vest  10 . The exterior and interior layers of the vest  10  are made of smooth, thermoplastic insulating material. This helps to prevent the temperature of the drinking liquid from affecting the comfort of the wearer, and prevents the wearer&#39;s body heat from effecting the drinking liquid. 
     An exterior shell is also present which is easily removable from the vest  10  and goes over the interior layer, exterior layer and sinuous tubing. The exterior shell comes in a variety of aesthetic designs, such as an incandescent and reflective design or a camouflage design depending on the specific activity and taste of the wearer. The incandescent and reflective design is usually worn by athletes such as runners and cyclists and the camouflage design is worn by hunters. The exterior shell is also made of canvas or nylon. 
     Molded sinuous tubing  20  is provided throughout the front of the vest  10 , which is shown in FIG. 2. A filling means for filling the vest  10  with drinking liquid is also provided. The filling means is a screw cap  30 , a fill hole orifice  38  and a funnel (not shown). The screw cap  30  is removed and a funnel is inserted into the fill hole orifice  38 . The drinking liquid is then poured into the vest  10  through the funnel and fill hole orifice  38  and into the molded sinuous tubing  20  of the vest. The screw cap  30  can be inserted back into the fill hole orifice  38  when the user is done filling the vest  10 . The screw cap  30  will then allow air flow during usage to avoid a vacuum in the molded sinuous tubing  20 . As shown in FIG. 9, the screw cap  30  can be rotated by pinching the screw cap  30  and rotating the open section  34  of the screw cap  30  over the fill hole orifice  38 . The fill hole orifice  38  can then be closed by rotating the closed section  36  over the fill hole orifice  38  to obstruct the flow of air from the fill hole orifice  38 . 
     There is also a fastening means  40  between the front and the back of the vest  10 . The fastening means  40  is a hook and loop fastener which attaches the front of the vest  10  with the back of the vest  10 . On a side of the vest  10  is a twist lock coupler  70  for attaching the molded sinuous tubing in the back of the vest  90  with the molded sinuous tubing in front of the vest  20 . The coupler is illustrated in detail in FIG.  7 . The front of the vest  10  is longer than the back of the vest  10  to allow the drinking liquid to gravitationally drain from the back of the vest  10  to the front of the vest  10 . This is shown in FIG. 3 along with a view of the twist lock coupler  70 . 
     An enclosing means for enclosing the drainage tube  60  and screw top  55  is shown in FIG.  8 . The enclosing means is a tongue and groove fastener  50  which provides access to the drainage tube  60  and screw top  55  near the bottom of the vest  10 . When the screw top  55  is in the closed position, it blocks the flow of drinking liquid to the drainage tube  60  and holds the drinking liquid within the molded sinuous tubing  20 , 90 . When the screw top  55  is in the open position, it allows the drinking liquid to flow through the drainage tube  60  and out of the vest  10 . 
     The screw top  55  is normally in the closed position while the vest  10  is being worn or used. The screw top  55  is in the open position when the user wants to clean out the vest  10  by running water or a cleaning solution through the molded sinuous tubing  20 , 90 , and allowing the water or cleaning solution to drain out through the drainage tube  60 . 
     There is also a dispensing means for dispensing drinkable liquid to the person wearing the vest  10 . The dispensing means of the preferred embodiment is a telescoping drinking tube  80  extending from the shoulder of the vest  10 , as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The telescoping drinking tube  80  can be pulled out and extended to allow the user to suck drinking liquid through the telescoping drinking tube  80 . When the telescoping drinking tube  80  is not used, it can be compressed back down into the vest  10  until the user is ready to drink from the telescoping drinking tube  80  again. 
     A second dispensing means is shown in FIG. 6, where the dispensing means is a pliable drinking tube assembly  100  that is held on the side of the vest  10  with a second hook and loop fastener  110 . The pliable drinking tube assembly  100  is held on the side of the vest  10  when not in use and can be released from the hook and loop fastener  110  for usage. The pliable drinking tube assembly  100  is used by sucking drinking liquid through the pliable drinking tube assembly  100  into the user&#39;s mouth. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.