Abstract:
The present invention is an inflatable safety garment. The invention preferably defines an inflatable safety Jacket having improved deployment cushion fill rates and standup times and having a simplified mechanical activation system. The inflatable safety garment is useful in mitigating or preventing injury that may otherwise occur to the wearer of the inflatable safety garment if the wearer were to not wear the inflatable safety garment and be involved in an accident or crash.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/326,214, filed Apr. 20, 2010, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to wearable safety devices, and in particular, to inflatable safety garments. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Inflatable safety devices, also known as supplemental restraint devices or air bags, are well known, have achieved widespread usage in the automotive industry, and are required for vehicles manufactured in the US. Such inflatable devices have matured such that they have become sophisticated in their arming schemes and deployment profiles. Until recently however, motorcycle riders and the like have suffered from the lack of adequate inflatable safety devices. In recent years, wearable inflatable crash protection devices such as vests have been introduced. An example of such inflatable vests is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,513 by Lewis et al, the whole of being incorporated herein by reference. However, such inflatable vests and related devices have suffered from inadequate inflation profiles and insufficient standup times (the amount of dwell time post deployment that the vest or like inflated cushion device remains inflated to at least a minimum level at which the vest will function for its intended cushioning purpose) and have used CO2 cartridges that inadequately inflate the vest (under fill) or too slowly inflate the vest. Further, such wearable inflatable devices have incorporated significantly complex and expensive sensors and arming devices to active such wearable inflatable devices. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention is an inflatable safety garment ISG. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the invention defines an inflatable safety Jacket (ISJ) having improved deployment cushion fill rates and standup times and having a simplified electromechanical activation system. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0005]    In order that the advantages of the invention will be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0006]      FIG. 1  is a front view of the preferred embodiment of the invention; 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the preferred embodiment of the invention mounted on a crash test dummy, and with the sleeves of the invention removed and the inflatable cushion of the invention deployed; 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a front view of an inflated cushion of the preferred embodiment of the invention mounted on a crash test dummy; 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a side view of an inflated cushion of the preferred embodiment of the invention mounted on a crash test dummy; 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is a flat pattern view of the inflated cushion of the preferred embodiment of the invention and a side view of the inflator of the preferred embodiment; 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  is a trimetric view of the inflator of the preferred embodiment of the invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 7  is a side view of the inflator of the preferred embodiment of the invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 8  is a schematic view of the activation device of the preferred embodiment of the invention, and; 
           [0014]      FIG. 9  is a trimetric view of the control unit of the preferred embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. 
         [0016]    Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are included to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 FEATURE TABLE 
               
             
          
           
               
                 # 
                 Feature 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 10 
                 Inflatable safety Jacket (ISJ) 
               
               
                 20 
                 Jacket shell 
               
               
                 30 
                 Inflatable cushion 
               
               
                 32 
                 Cushion inflation port 
               
               
                 40 
                 Inflator 
               
               
                 50 
                 Actuation device 50 
               
               
                 60 
                 control unit 
               
               
                 62 
                 Housing 
               
               
                 64 
                 Battery 
               
               
                 66 
                 Circuit board 
               
               
                 68 
                 Switch 
               
               
                 70 
                 Removable actuation pin 
               
               
                 80 
                 Cable tether 
               
               
                 90 
                 Buckle 
               
               
                 100 
                 Latch 
               
               
                 110 
                 Coiled cable tether 
               
               
                 120 
                 Reconnectable anchor 
               
               
                 130 
                 Crash test dummy 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0017]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1 through 8  of the drawings, a first embodiment of the invention is an inflatable safety Jacket (ISJ)  10 . ISJ  10  comprises a jacket shell  20 , an inflatable cushion  30 , an inflator  40 , and an actuation device  50 . Jacket shell  20  preferably defines a jacket of substantially durable and yet drapable and flexible material such as for instance leather, nylon, or like material. For reference, a test dummy is provided as crash test dummy  130 . Inflatable cushion  30  preferably defines a “cut and sewn” inflatable cushion of nylon “cloth” but may alternatively define a “one-piece woven” inflatable cushion of preferably nylon material. Inflatable cushion  30  preferably includes an inflation port  32  and may include a coating on the inside of inflatable cushion  30  to decrease gas loss and to increase stand up time or duration of the cushion in the deployed or inflated state. Inflator  40  defines an inflator capable of inflating the inflatable cushion in a relatively short period of time. For instance, inflator  40  may be capable of fully inflating inflatable cushion  30  within 10 to 150 milliseconds but alternatively may be capable of increased or decreased inflation time periods. More specifically, inflator  40  preferably defines an ACH-2.2 side hybrid inflator (a hybrid of stored gas and a pyrotechnic heater) available from Autoliv ASP, Inc. The ACH-2.2 side hybrid inflator is incorporated herein by reference. Actuation device  50  preferably defines the assembly of control unit  60 , cable tether  80 , buckle  90 , latch  100 , coiled cable tether  110 , and reconnectable anchor  120 . Control unit  60  preferably further includes housing  62 , battery  64 , circuit board  66 , switch  68 , and removable actuation pin  70 . Battery  64 , circuit board  66 , and switch  68 , are attached to the inside of housing  62  and removable actuation pin  70  is actuatingly mounted partially within and partially without of housing  62 . Control unit  60  preferably includes an indication means such as a lightable LED or an alarm or both that indicate a low voltage/battery condition. Control unit  60  further preferably includes an indication means such as a lightable LED or an audible alert or both that indicate that ISJ  10  is tethered (such as to a motorcycle or like object) when the latch  100  is engaged to buckle  90 . ISJ  10  is assembled such that inflator  40  is portingly connected to inflation port  32  of inflatable cushion  30  and inflatable cushion  30 , inflator  40 , and control unit  60  (of actuation device  50 ) are mounted to the inside of jacket shell  20 . Control unit  60  of actuation device  50  is electrically connected to the inflator  40 . Removable actuation pin  70  of actuation device  50  is connected to cable tether  80 , cable tether  80  is connected to buckle  90 , and buckle  90  is couplingly and uncouplingly connected to latch  100 , latch  100  is connected to coiled cable tether  110 , and coiled cable tether  110  is connected to reconnectable anchor  120 . 
         [0018]    In practice, a user dons assembled ISJ  10 , mounts a motorcycle, and connects reconnectable anchor  120  to a stable structural member of the motorcycle. The user then rides the motorcycle while wearing ISJ  10 . If an accident or crash occurs while the user is riding the motorcycle and wearing ISJ  10 , the movement of the rider from the motorcycle causes removable actuation pin  70  to be mechanically pulled out of control unit housing  62 , which in turn sends an actuation signal to inflator  40 . Inflator  40  then inflates inflatable cushion  30  before the rider collides with the ground or other object and thus mitigates or prevents injury that may otherwise occur to the rider. It is noted that in an alternate embodiment, in order to prevent an inadvertent deployment, control unit  60  receives an ongoing speed indication signal from the speedometer of the motorcycle and does not send an actuation signal to inflator  40  unless the speed of the motorcycle is above a predetermined speed. It is further noted that the invention is adapted for other uses such as use when a user is riding a horse, a bicycle, a snowmobile, etc, or for when the user is on an elevated structure or for use by the elderly.