Patent Abstract:
The personal floatation device (PFD) sleeve presented in this application comprises a sleeve in the form of a strip that can be worn on a swimmer&#39;s appendage including leg, calf and arm. The PFD sleeve may be made of a flexible, water resistant material. The PFD sleeve comprises a single compartment wherein a deflated PFD with CO 2  cartridge is stored during swimming, and a first and a second connection panel whose major function is to wrap around the appendage of a swimmer using the fastening means on their surfaces. The present invention provides a PFD that is simple, reliable, light-weight, compact and can be inflated and deployed quickly during an emergency to support a swimmer floating on the water but does not affect the swimmer&#39;s mobility before it is deployed.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This continuation-in-part patent application claims the benefit U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/052,185, filed Mar. 21, 2011. The previous patent application identified in the foregoing sentence is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    1. Technical Field 
         [0004]    The present invention relates generally to personal floatation devices and, more particularly to a personal floatation device that is deflated and can be worn on a user&#39;s appendage while swimming without affecting user&#39;s mobility and can be quickly inflated and deployed when the need for use or an emergency arises. 
         [0005]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0006]    U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/052,185 offers a personal floatation device (PFD) sleeve that can be worn around a user&#39;s appendage and used in emergency situations while in water. The PFD sleeve attaches to the user&#39;s appendage using one or more first and second connection panels connected to opposing sides of a compartment. Preferably, the connection panels are connected to the compartment via one or more strips extending along a bottom surface of the compartment, and, the compartment is attached to the strips by sewing or the like. The compartment has an opening between a first top wall and a second top wall and a deflated PFD may be inserted into an interior of the compartment through the opening. 
         [0007]    The PFD inserted into the compartment has a gas cartridge releasing mechanism. The gas cartridge releasing mechanism causes a cartridge containing compressed gas to inflate the PFD. A cord operatively coupled the gas cartridge releasing mechanism extends out of the opening of the compartment and is pulled to activate the mechanism. Once activated, the mechanism punctures the compressed gas cartridge, which causes the compressed gas therein to rapidly exit the cartridge and enter the PFD to inflate it. The rapidly expanding volume of the PFD upon inflation causes the PFD to exit the compartment through the opening. The PFD is tethered to the compartment and the buoyancy of the PFD pulls the user to safety. 
         [0008]    With the cord extending out of the opening and dangling from the PFD sleeve, there is a risk that it may be inadvertently pulled and the PFD inadvertently deployed. That risk is exacerbated when the density of swimmers around a user of the PFD sleeve is elevated. For example, starting the swimming portion of a triathlon presents a situation where the risk of inadvertent PFD deployment is increased. Other examples may be swimming at a crowded beach or the like. Accordingly, a need exists to secure the cord from being accidentally pulled. 
         [0009]    Additionally, it has been found that the compartment of the PFD sleeve may shrink and stretch depending on whether it is wet or dry. The stretching or the shrinking of the compartment may affect the performance of the PFD sleeve and dissuade people from wearing it. For example, increased drag of the PFD sleeve through the water can occur if the compartment loosely surrounds the PFD instead of being taut around it. In the competitive triathlon environment referred to above, for example, the notion of increased drag and slower race times dissuades those competitors from using the PFD sleeve. Therefore, a need exists for a compartment which may still be tautly closed around the PFD even when the compartment stretches. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The embodiment of the PFD sleeve disclosed herein addresses the aforementioned problems. While having many of the same features as the embodiment disclosed in application Ser. No. 13/052,185, the present embodiment also has a retaining strip attached to the compartment to secure the cord. The retaining strip has two attachment points to the compartment and extends over an outer surface of the second top wall. The cord, or preferably a handle attached to the cord, is positioned between the retaining strip and the compartment to secure the cord to the compartment. Thus, the retaining strip extends over the handle or over the cord between its attachment points. 
         [0011]    The retaining strip may be permanent or detachably connected to the compartment. If detachably connected, one of its attachment points hast a fastening means which allows the retaining strips to be pulled away from the compartment at that point. A user may pull the retaining strip away from the compartment to access the handle. In the preferred embodiment, the fastening means is Velcro® or some other hook-and-loop fastener, and, the retaining strip has a first component of the hook-and-loop fastener sewn or otherwise affixed to it while the second top wall of the compartment has a second component of the hook-and-loop fastener sewn or otherwise affixed to it. 
         [0012]    A first top wall of the compartment preferably overlaps the second top wall of the compartment, thereby creating an opening for the PFD. A fastening means between the first and second top walls closes the opening. Preferably, the fastening means is Velcro® or some other hook-and-loop fastener, and, the overlapping portion of the first top wall has a first component of the hook-and-loop fastener sewn or otherwise affixed to it while a second component of the hook-and-loop fastener is sewn or otherwise affixed to the second top wall. The second component has a larger surface area than the first component so that the first top wall can be pulled taut over the PFD even when the compartment is wet and stretchable. 
         [0013]    Preferably, the second component of the hook-and-loop fastener between the first and second top walls is an integral piece with the second component of the hook-and-loop fastener between the retaining strip and the second top wall. In other words, both second components are along a single piece of Velcro® (or other hook-and-loop fastener) on the second top wall. The single integral piece allows for more efficient manufacturing of the device while meeting the above-identified needs. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the PFD sleeve with a PFD deployed and with a retaining strip extending from a compartment of the PFD sleeve. 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a top perspective view of the PFD sleeve shown in  FIG. 1  with the PFD inserted within the compartment prior to deployment. 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a bottom perspective view of the PFD sleeve shown in  FIG. 2 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the PFD sleeve shown in  FIG. 1  wherein an internal surface of the PFD sleeve is on the bottom and an external surface of the PFD sleeve is on the top and with the PFD and tether omitted for illustration purposes. 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a cross section taken along the inside of an end wall of the compartment and shows an interior of the compartment with the PFD and tether omitted for illustration purposes. 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a top view of the compartment with a first top wall of the compartment shown unfolded from its position in  FIG. 5 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the PFD sleeve attached to a user&#39;s right thigh. 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the PFD sleeve attached to a user&#39;s left thigh. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]    A personal floatation device (PFD) sleeve  210  is shown in  FIG. 1 . The sleeve  210  has a PFD  212  in the form of a life jacket deployed from a compartment  214  on the sleeve  210 . The PFD  212  is attached to the compartment  214  via a tether  216  with a first end  218  attached to the PFD  212  and a second end  220  attached to the compartment  214 . Preferably, the tether  214  is made from marine grade nylon which resists ultraviolet degradation and rot and is sewn or otherwise affixed within the compartment  214  and sewn or otherwise affixed to the PFD  212 . The tether  214 , however, could be made from any number of materials and attached to the compartment  214  and the PFD  212  in a number of ways. The tether  216  extends from within the compartment  214  through an opening  222  between a first top wall  224  and a second top wall  226 . 
         [0023]    The PFD  212  has a compressed gas cartridge releasing mechanism  228  on it. The compressed gas cartridge releasing mechanism  228  is well-known in the art. It has a compressed gas cartridge  230  which contains a gas (not shown) such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). The gas cartridge  230  is threaded into the gas cartridge releasing mechanism  228 . A cord  232  is operatively coupled to the gas cartridge releasing mechanism  228  so that the mechanism  228  punctures the compressed gas cartridge  230  when the cord  232  is pulled. The cord  232  may have a handle  234  attached at one end for facilitating pulling. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,754,731 describes one such compressed gas cartridge releasing mechanism  228  known in the art. 
         [0024]    When the cord  232  is pulled and the compressed gas cartridge  230  is punctured, the compressed gas (not shown) exits the cartridge  230  and the PFD  212  is rapidly inflated. Upon inflation, the PFD  212  expands to a volume larger than the compartment  214  causing it to exit the compartment through the opening  222 . Additionally, the PFD  212  may have a manual inflation tube  236  for maintaining inflation of the PFD  212  after it has been deployed, or, for manually inflating the PFD  212  after pulling it from the compartment  214  through the opening  222 . In this regard, the manual inflation tube  236  has a check valve (not shown) for allowing air flow into the PFD  212  but preventing air flow out of the PFD  212 . Once inflated, the PFD  212  may be deflated by pushing against the check valve (not shown). 
         [0025]    The compartment  214  may be attached to one or more strips  238 . When present, each of the strips  238  connects a first connection panel  240  and a second connection panel  242  to opposing sides of the compartment  214 . In the embodiment shown, the first connection panel  240  is integral with the strips  238  while the second connection panel  242  is separate from the strips  238 . In this regard, each of the strips  238  has a first piece of material  244  with edges folded toward each other and a longitudinal seam  246  is sewn down the middle. The first connection panel  240  is sewn into the material  244  of the strips  238  on one side of the compartment  214  using a box stitch  248  or is otherwise affixed to the material  244 . In contrast, the second connection panel  242  is a second piece of material  250  sewn (or otherwise affixed) to the first piece of material  244  using a box stitch  252 , with the second connection panel  242  being connected on an opposing side of the compartment  214  from the first connection panel  240 . 
         [0026]    Preferably, the first piece of material  244  is a flexible nylon fabric while the second piece of material  250  is an elastic material such as Neoprene which has been laminated with unbroken loop fabric. It should be noted, however, that the first and second connection panels  240 ,  242  may be made from the same type of material, may both be integral with the strips  238 , or may be directly connected to the compartment  214  without the strips  238 . Further, it should be noted that the strips  238  may be configured differently in alternative embodiments. For example, the first piece of material  244  may not be folded or the seam  246  may be in an alternative position or not present at all. 
         [0027]    A retaining strip  254  extends from the compartment  214  in  FIG. 1 . The retaining strip  254  has a first attachment point  256  to the compartment  214 . The first attachment point  256  is shown along a seam  258  at an end wall  260  of the compartment  214 . The end wall  260  and the seam  258  are formed by joining the first and second top walls  224 ,  226  of the compartment  214  with a bottom wall  262  of the compartment  214 . It should be noted, however, that the first attachment point  256  of the retaining strip  254  may be located elsewhere on the compartment  214  and the retaining strip  254  may be attached in some other manner such as, for example, if it were riveted or snap fastened to the compartment  214  at the first attachment point  256 . 
         [0028]    Apart from the first attachment point  256 , the preferred retaining strip  254  has a second attachment point  264  where a fastening means for detachably connecting the retaining strip  254  to the compartment  214 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . The second attachment point  264  is preferably on an outer surface  266  of the second top wall  224  of the compartment  214 , but, could be located elsewhere on the compartment  214  depending on the length of the retaining strip  254  and its configuration on the compartment  214 . Preferably, the fastening means is a hook-and-loop fastener such as, for example, a Velcro® hook-and-loop fastener, and a first component  268  of the hook-and loop fastener is sewn or otherwise affixed to the retaining strip  254  while a second component  270  of the hook-and-loop fastener is sewn or otherwise affixed to the outer surface  266  of the second top wall  226 . The first component  268  may be the “hooks” of the fastener while the second component  270  may be the “loops” of the fastener, or vice versa. It should be noted, however, that other fastening means may be used such as, for example, snap fasteners, buttons, buckles, or the like. Additionally, the retaining strip  254  may be “permanently” rather than detachably connected to the compartment  214  at its second attachment point  256 . 
         [0029]    The PFD  212  is within the compartment  214  in  FIG. 2  and the cord  232  extends from the compressed gas releasing mechanism  228  within the compartment  214  through the opening  222  between the first and second top walls  224 ,  226 . The retaining strip  254  extends from its first attachment point  256 , over the outer surface  266  of the second top wall  226  and over the handle  234  on the cord  232  to its second attachment point  264 . The handle  234  of the cord  232 , is positioned between the retaining strip  254  and the outer surface  266  of the second top wall  226 , securing the handle  234  and the cord  232  to the compartment  214 . The handle  234  is shown in contact with the second component  270  on the outer surface  266 , however, in alternative embodiments it may not be. For example, the handle  234  may directly contact the outer surface  266  of the second top wall  226  if the second component  270  were smaller than that shown. Further, the retaining strip  254  may secure the handle  234  to the compartment  214  in some other manner, such as, for example, if its first attachment point  256  were on the first top wall  224  and its second attachment point  264  were on the second top wall  226  or even on the bottom wall  262  of the compartment  214 . Moreover, the handle  234  may not be present and the retaining strip  254  may extend over the cord  232 . 
         [0030]    A fastening means detachably connects the first and second connection panels  240 ,  242  so that the PFD sleeve  210  may be installed on a user&#39;s appendage. Preferably, the fastening means is a hook-and-loop fastener such as, for example, a Velcro® hook-and-loop fastener, and a first component  272  of the hook-and loop fastener is sewn or otherwise affixed to an external surface  274  of the second connection panel  242  as shown in  FIG. 2  while a second component  276  of the hook-and-loop fastener is sewn or otherwise affixed to an internal surface  278  of the first connection panel  240  as shown in  FIG. 3 . The first component  272  may be the “loops” of the fastener while the second component  276  may be the “hooks” of the fastener, or vice versa. It should be noted, however, that other fastening means may be used to detachably connect the first and second connection panels  240 ,  242  such as, for example, snap fasteners, buttons, buckles, or the like. 
         [0031]    The attachment of the compartment  214  to the strips  238  is shown in  FIG. 3 . Each of the strips  238  has a region  280  where the compartment  214  is attached. Preferably, the compartment  214  is sewn to the region  280  using a box stitch  282  or some other stitch pattern. Alternatively, the compartment  214  may be affixed or attached to the region  280  in some other manner. Also shown are the box stitches  248 ,  252  affixing, respectively, the first and second connection panels  240 ,  242  to the strips  238 . These box stitches  248 ,  252  each have diagonal stitching  284  for reinforcement. 
         [0032]    In  FIG. 4 , the compartment  214  is shown attached to the region  280  on one of the strips  238  from a side view. The first piece of material  244  of the strips  238  extends around the second piece of material  250  of the second connection panel  242  and the box stitch  252  affixes the two materials  244 ,  250  to each other. The first component  272  of the preferred fastening means is shown along the external surface  274  of the second connection panel  242  while the second component  276  is shown along the internal surface  278  of the first connection panel  240 . 
         [0033]    An end wall  286  of the compartment  214  is also shown in  FIG. 4 . End wall  286  and end wall  260  (see, e.g.,  FIG. 1 ) are on opposing sides of the compartment  214 . Like end wall  260 , end wall  286  in  FIG. 4  is formed by joining the first and second top walls  224 ,  226  with the bottom wall  262  at a seam  288 . A first side wall  290  and a second side wall  292  are also on opposing sides of the compartment  214 . 
         [0034]    In  FIG. 5 , a cross section of the compartment  214  is taken inside the end wall  286  to illustrate an interior  294  of the compartment  214 . Looking through the interior  294 , the end wall  260  and the seam  258  on the opposing side of the compartment  214  are seen. The first top wall  224 , the second top wall  226 , and the bottom wall  262  help define the interior  294  of the compartment  214 . The first side wall  290  is formed by folding the first top wall  224  toward the bottom wall  262  and the second side wall  292  is formed by folding the second top wall  226  toward the bottom wall  262 . The first top wall  224  has an interior surface  296  with an overlapping portion  298  extending over the outer surface  266  of the second top wall  226 . 
         [0035]    The preferred opening  222  is between the overlapping portion  298  of the first top wall  224  and the second top wall  226 . A fastening means for detachably connecting first top wall  224  to the second top wall  226  may be present to close the opening  222 . Preferably, the fastening means is a hook-and-loop fastener such as, for example, a Velcro® hook-and-loop fastener, and a first component  300  of the hook-and loop fastener is sewn or otherwise affixed to the interior surface  296  of the first top wall  224  along the overlapping portion  298  while a second component  302  of the hook-and-loop fastener is sewn or otherwise affixed to the outer surface  266  of the second top wall  226 . The first component  300  may be the “hooks” of the fastener while the second component  302  may be the “loops” of the fastener, or vice versa. It should be noted, however, that other fastening means may be used such as, for example, snap fasteners, buttons, buckles, or the like. 
         [0036]    Also shown in  FIG. 5  is the retaining strip  254  with the first component  268  above the second component  270  of the hook-and-loop fastener. The retaining strip  254  has a tab  304  at its end where the first component  268  is not present. The preferred tab  304  is formed by folding a portion of the retaining strip  254  in on itself and placing stitching  306  across the retaining strip  254 , but, tab  304  may be formed in some other manner Additionally, it should be noted that the second component  270  for the retaining strip  254  and the second component  302  for closing the opening  222  between the first and second top walls  224 ,  226  may be configured the same—i.e., both as a “hooked” surface or both as a “looped” surface—and may be formed from a single integral piece, as shown. 
         [0037]    In  FIG. 6 , the first top wall  224  has been unfolded in a direction away from the bottom wall  262  to illustrate the first component  300  on its interior surface  296 . In contrast, the second top wall  226  remains folded and the second component  302  on the outer surface  266  of the second top wall  226  is visible. The first component  300  is sewn to the interior surface  296  of the first top wall  224  with stitching  208  along its sides. Stitching  310  along the sides of the second components  270 ,  302  and diagonal stitching  312  across the second components  270 ,  302  sews these component to the second top wall  226  when the second components  270 ,  302  are an integral piece. Alternative stitching may be presents, for example, if the two second compartments  270 ,  302  were separate pieces. 
         [0038]    As shown, the first and second components  300 ,  302  are shaped as a rectangle, with the surface area of the second component  302  being larger than the surface area of the first component  300 . The larger surface area of the second compartment  302  with respect to the first component  300  allows the first top wall  229  to be pulled taut over the PDF  212  even when the compartment  214  is wet and stretches. Preferably, the surface area of the second component  302  is at least one-and-one-half times larger than the surface area of the first component  300 . 
         [0039]    As noted, second component  302  is preferably a single integral piece with second component  270 . In this regard, the first component  300  of the first top wall  224  shares the single integral piece with the first component  268  of the retaining strip  254  if the retaining strip  254  is present. When the first component  268  of the retaining strip  254  is connected to the single integral piece, the surface area of the single integral piece which remains available for the first component  300  is still larger than the surface area of the first component  300  of the first top wall  224 . In  FIG. 2 , for example, stitching  314  along the first top wall  224  is along the boundary of the surface area for the first component  300  and surface area of the single integral piece between the first top wall  224  and the retaining strip  254  remains available. 
         [0040]      FIG. 7  shows the PFD sleeve  210  positioned in its preferred placement on a user&#39;s leg for a right-handed user while  FIG. 8  shows the preferred placement for a left-handed user. The retaining strip  254  extends over the handle  234  attached to the cord  232 , thereby securing these items against the PFD sleeve  210  and preventing unwanted deployment of the PFD  212 . When the user encounters an emergency situation and needs to deploy the PFD  212 , the user disconnects the retaining strip  254  from its second attachment point  264  to the compartment  214  and pulls the handle  234  to inflate and deploy the PFD  212  as previously described. Alternatively, the user will remove handle  234  from between the retaining strip  254  and the outer surface  266  prior to pulling the handle  234  to deploy the PFD  212  if the retaining strip  254  were not detachably connected to the compartment  214  at its second attachment point  264 . 
         [0041]    Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments of the invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon the reference to the above description of the invention. It is therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover such modifications that fall within the scope of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0