1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to buoyancy compensating devices (buoyancy compensating devices) that help divers achieve positive, neutral or negative buoyancy as needed.
2. Background Art
It is desired to have a buoyancy compensating device that allows a diver to easily maintain his desired three-dimensional position under the water or on the surface. This ability is greatly affected by the design of the buoyancy compensating device and the placement of air cells with respect to the ballast weights. Many buoyancy compensating devices have used various air cell configurations and ballast locations in an attempt to achieve this.
Buoyancy compensating devices with integrated weight carrying pockets are commonplace now. Integrated means the weights are contained or attached to the buoyancy compensating device as opposed to the diver wearing a separate belt containing weights around the waist. Attaching the weights to the buoyancy compensating device helps distribute the load from the ballast weights over both the divers' waist and shoulders instead of the weight being supported by the diver's back at the waist. It is typically a more comfortable configuration.
One problem with most of the integrated weight systems is the balance problems they create for the diver due to placement of the weights. They are usually mounted on a waistband forward near the hips. If one envisions a diver in the upright position, the air cell portion of the buoyancy compensating device is typically located behind the diver's center of gravity with the weights in front of it. The buoyant forces of the air in the buoyancy compensating device work against the gravitational forces of the ballast weights. If the ballast weights are off centerline of the buoyancy compensating device air cell, a torque force is created that can be contrary to the diver's desired position in the water. As a result, if the diver is resting on the surface, the tendency of the common buoyancy compensating device is to push the diver into a face down attitude when he is trying to maintain an upright, vertical position. The diver experiences discomfort and wastes energy trying to counteract the torque forces created by the buoyancy compensating device. There is also a safety issue if the diver is in some distressed or unconscious state in which he cannot overcome the tendency of the buoyancy compensating device to favor the face-down attitude. Similarly, if the diver wishes to rest on his back in a face-up position, the same weight placement may tend to roll him over on his side or in a face-down position.
In the present invention, the weights in a buoyancy compensating device are placed in a pouch or pocket immediately beneath the air cell. The pocket is essentially a non-air holding extension of the buoyancy bag. In this manner, the center of gravity is now moved back, more directly in line with the center of the buoyancy bag. The buoyant forces act to directly counter the forces of the ballast weights. The improved device is more balanced in the water, very comfortable and requires less energy to maintain a diver's selected orientation in the water.
The weight holding pockets can be constructed with varying degrees of stiffness relative to the air cell. The weights react to gravity and shift forward or back a few degrees depending upon whether the diver is on his back or on his stomach. The center of gravity shifts to be more in harmony with the diver's desired attitude. For example; floating or resting vertically on the surface, the diver wants to remain that way without extra effort to stay face down or face up. The weights hang directly below the air cell at equilibrium (
The aforementioned objects and advantages of the present invention, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, will be more fully understood herein after as a result of a detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the following drawings in which:
The relative movement of the weights 16 is illustrated best in
The position of a weight pouch at the lower left and right ends of an air cell or bladder in a vertical or neutral position is shown in
Having thus disclosed exemplary embodiments of the invention, it will now be understood that the principal feature hereof may be provided in various alternative configurations which may not have the precise geometry or relative size of the illustrated embodiments. Therefore, the scope hereof is to be limited only by the appended claims and their equivalents.