Back secured to jackets or the like for fastening bottles of compressed gas for diving activities

Abstract

Back secured to a jacket or the like for fastening bottles of compressed gas for diving activities, comprising a main body made of a relatively soft and impermeable material and provided inside with one or more chambers which can be filled up with a suitable non-compressible fluid supplied through inlet and outlet hubs obtained on said main body.

Description

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to backs secured to jackets or the like for fastening bottles of compressed gas for diving activities.

[0002] As is generally known, there are several types of backs for fastening bottles to divers' jackets, among which stiff backs made of a relatively hard plastic material, and foldable backs usually made of textile material and provided inside with a pad.

[0003] Said types of stiff or foldable backs show several disadvantages: stiff backs are too bulky and it is extremely difficult to put them into carrying bags or the like; as far as foldable backs are concerned, if their padding material is enclosed in an impermeable sheath, or if it is impermeable, said material is compressed while diving, so that the back loses its solidity and stiffness; on the contrary, if the padding material is an open-cell material, it gets soaked with water, which causes problems for its transport once the diving session is over.

[0004] The present invention aims at overcoming the disadvantages of known backs as mentioned above by means of a back which cannot be compressed while diving, therefore maintaining its original solidity and stability, and which can be easily put away and carried with minimum room requirements and maximum convenience at the end of the diving session, for instance by using a carrying bag or the like.

[0005] Said aim is reached by the present invention through a back consisting of a main body made of a relatively soft and impermeable material, provided inside with one or more intercommunicating chambers which can be filled up with a suitable non-compressible fluid, the latter being supplied through inlet and outlet hubs obtained on said main body.

[0006] According to a further aspect of the present invention said back consists of at least two overlapping strips joined on their edges by thermoweldings or sealed seams.

[0007] The present back is therefore advantageously provided with constant underwater stability and solidity, is a suitable moldable support for the user's back while diving, is highly convenient to be carried away at the end of the diving session (since the non-compressible fluid is let out and the back can therefore be folded) and can further be carried out in different shapes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Further aims and advantages of the present invention will be better understood in the following description, considered as a mere non-limiting example and referring to the enclosed drawings, in which:

[0009] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a back according to the present invention for fastening a bottle of compressed gas;

[0010] FIG. 2 shows a section view of the back in FIG. 1;

[0011] FIG. 3 shows a view according to section line III-III in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment of the back;

[0012] FIG. 4 shows a section view of a second embodiment of the present back; and

[0013] FIG. 5 shows a view according to section line V-V in FIG. 4 of the second embodiment of the back.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0014] With reference to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, the numeral 1 indicates a jacket to which a back for fastening a bottle 3 is secured behind in a known way. Said back 2, according to a first embodiment of the present invention, consists of a body with a substantially triangular shape.

[0015] Said back 2 is shown in section in FIG. 2 and comprises inside a series of chambers 4, which are separated by means of a series of intermediate partitions 5. Said chambers 4 communicate one with the other by means of passages 6 obtained in said partitions 5. The upper portion of the back 2 is provided with two hubs 7 and 8 which are used respectively to introduce the non-compressible fluid into the chambers 4 and to discharge air from said chambers 4.

[0016] FIG. 3 shows according to section III-III of FIG. 2 one of the chambers 4 obtained within the back 2, and in particular chamber 4′. Said back 2 consists of two strips 201 and 202 suitably shaped and made of a relatively soft and impermeable elastic material, rubber for instance. Said strips 201 and 202 are placed one onto the other and joined on their edges 203 and 204 by means of thermoweldings or, alternatively, tight seams.

[0017] FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of a back 9 according to the present invention. Said back consists of a body with a rectangular shape and comprising inside four tubular chambers 10 separated by three intermediate partitions 11 communicating one with the other through passages 12 obtained in said partitions 11.

[0018] Section V-V of FIG. 5 is remarkable for the transversal shape of the tubular chambers 10 filled up with non-compressible fluid and, similarly to FIG. 3, for the two strips 901 and 902 constituting the back 9. Said strips 901 and 902 are joined on their edges 903 and 904 by means of thermoweldings (or suitable seams) which are also used to join said strips 901 and 902 in areas placed inside said body 9, so as to obtain the three partitions 11. Said inner thermoweldings obviously depend on the number and shape of the chambers 10 which have to be obtained within the body 9 of the back.

[0019] The working of the present back is the same for both embodiments shown. The working of the back 2 will now be described as a mere example: by means of the hub 7 the diver fills up the chambers 4 with non-compressible fluid, water for instance, and simultaneously discharges the air which could be trapped within said chamber 4 through the hub 8. In order to carry out said filling operation within the back 2 several means can be used, for instance a simple tap, a hand-operated pump taking sea water and introducing it into the back 2, a venturi pump operated with the air of the bottle 3, or the like. For the diving stage, therefore, the diver will then fill the back 2 until it reaches the desired consistency, and since the back thus filled up cannot be compressed, said consistency will be constant; during the stages before and after the diving session said back, without no more water, can be easily folded and carried, also in suitable bags.

[0020] As can be inferred from the previous description, the advantages resulting from the use of a back according to the embodiments shown as mere examples are manifold, and manifold are also further execution variants which can be adopted to obtain said advantages without leaving the framework of the attached claims.

Claims

1. Back secured to a jacket or the like for fastening bottles of compressed gas for diving activities, in which said back consists of a main body made of a relatively soft and impermeable material and is provided inside with one or more chambers which can be filled up with a suitable non-compressible fluid supplied through inlet and outlet hubs obtained on said main body.

2. Back according to claim 1, in which said chambers are intercommunicating.

3. Back according to claim 1, in which said body consists of at least two overlapping strips joined on their edges by means of sealed thermoweldings.

4. Back according to claim 3, in which said strips are joined on their edges by means of sealed seams.

5. Back according to claim 3, in which said strips are sealingly joined in areas within said body of the back, so as to provide for partitions separating said intercommunicating chambers.

6. Back according to claim 5, in which at least a passage for the non-compressible fluid filling up said chambers is obtained within said partitions.

7. Back according to claim 1, in which said main body comprises an air outlet hub.