IMPROVED GARMENT PROTECTING AGAINST DROWNING

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of garments protecting against drowning. It finds a particularly advantageous application in protecting young children.

PRIOR ART

In the field of protecting persons against drowning, the most widespread solutions are lifejackets. These lifejackets are worn when practicing sailing or water sports. There are two types of lifejackets: those with inherent buoyancy in the form of a jacket, and inflatable lifejackets, comprising an inflatable bladder having two abdominal flanks connected together by a cervical portion. For the latter, triggering may be automatic or implemented manually by the user when he realizes that he is in a situation of danger.

There are also garments incorporating a lifejacket. For example, technical garments are known for specific applications (oil platforms, marine) that are designed both to ensure buoyancy of the wearer, but also to keep the wearer alive as long as possible in the event of falling into the water, by also offering them thermal protection. These garments are very heavy and correspond to safety equipment in a professional environment.

In the leisure field, it is necessary to offer solutions protecting against drowning for children or adolescents that are well-tolerated throughout the period of activity in the vicinity of the aquatic environment. In this regard, swimming armbands or rubber rings are not satisfactory since they are generally removed as soon as emerging from the water.

The document EP 2 888 161 also proposed a protective garment against drowning taking the form of a jersey incorporating an inflatable bladder and a device for automatically triggering the inflatable bladder. The bladder contained in the garment inflates when the child or adolescent falls in the water.

However, the garment proposed in this document does not appear to be adapted to protect young children against drowning (weighing less than 30 kg and more particularly children weighing less than 15 kg, which corresponds substantially to an age of less than 3 years). This is because, for a child not having swimming reflexes, equipment protecting against drowning must firstly have high buoyancy, and secondly effect a turning over of the body of the wearer and support for the head to keep the respiratory tracts out of the water (constraints imposed for example by ISO 12402-4). However, the configuration of the inflatable bladder and the limited volume thereof do not appear to make it possible to turn the wearer over, keep them afloat or keep the respiratory tracts out of the water, necessary for a young child.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing a protective garment against drowning that is adapted to protect young children.

In particular, one aim of the invention is to propose a protective garment against drowning that is well-tolerated by young children but that ensures that the wearer is turned over and, once inflated, confers sufficient buoyancy and keeps the respiratory tracts of the wearer out of the water.

One aim of the invention is to propose a protective garment making it possible to reduce the resources necessary for renewing the garment as the child grows, by making the inflatable bladder removable from the garment and therefore reusable.

Another aim of the invention is to keep a high level of safety by eliminating the risks of the inflatable bladder unintentionally detaching from the garment or being removed by a child.

In this regard a protective garment against drowning is proposed, comprising:

- an item of clothing comprising a front face intended to cover the abdomen of a user, and a rear face intended to cover the back of the user,
- an inflatable bladder comprising two abdominal floats connected to each other by a cervical portion, and
- an inflator of the inflatable bladder, adapted to inflate the bladder automatically when the inflator is in contact with water,
  
  the protective garment being characterized in that the front face of the item of clothing comprises a housing shaped to receive the abdominal floats of the inflatable bladder, the housing opening out via two openings arranged to allow the assembly of the inflatable bladder to the item of clothing in a removable manner by inserting each abdominal float into the housing through a respective opening.

In embodiments, each abdominal float of the inflatable bladder is connected to the cervical portion by a narrowed portion, with a width reduced compared with the width of the abdominal float, and the width of each opening of the housing lies between the width of the narrowed portion and the width of one abdominal float.

In embodiments, the front face of the item of clothing comprises at least two superimposed textile layers, and the housing is defined between the two layers.

In embodiments, the housing comprises two compartments, each compartment being shaped to receive an abdominal float of the inflatable bladder, each compartment furthermore being delimited by a seam between the two layers of the front face of the item of clothing.

In embodiments, the housing is defined between a so-called top layer and a so-called bottom layer of the front face of the item of clothing, the item of clothing furthermore comprises two sleeves, each sleeve being sewn on one hand to the rear face and on the other hand to the bottom layer of the front face of the item of clothing, so that the two openings are located at each armhole of the front face while being formed between an edge of the top layer and the bottom layer sewn to the sleeve.

In embodiments, the item of clothing is shaped so that the cervical portion of the inflatable bladder is external to the rear face of the item of clothing in the inflated state.

In embodiments, the rear face of the item of clothing comprises a housing adapted to house the cervical portion of the inflatable bladder in the deflated state, and to open to release the cervical portion when the latter inflates.

In embodiments, the housing comprises a removable fastening device. This removable fastening device can for example be selected from: one or more strips of Velcro, one or more press studs, a burstable zip fastener, one or more magnetic buttons.

In embodiments, the rear face of the item of clothing comprises two superimposed textile layers between which the housing is defined. In this case, the two superimposed textile layers can comprise a bottom textile layer and a top textile layer, and the top textile layer can include a cutout defining two panels each carrying a part of the removable fastening device so that the panels can be removably joined by said device.

In other embodiments, the item of clothing furthermore comprises a flange shaped to contain the cervical portion of the inflatable bladder when the latter is deflated. The flange can then be sewn at each armhole to the top layer of the front face of the item of clothing.

In embodiments, the inflator comprises a compressed-gas cartridge and a trigger adapted to release the gas contained in the cartridge in the event of contact with water.

In embodiments, the trigger is of the hydrostatic type.

In embodiments, the inflator is disposed on the front face of the item of clothing, the compressed-gas cartridge being in fluid communication with an abdominal float of the inflatable bladder when triggered.

The protective garment against drowning that is described herein is particularly suitable for protecting young children. This is because it comprises an item of clothing that can be worn normally, this item of clothing furthermore comprising an inflatable bladder with automatic inflation in the event of contact with water. The inflatable bladder is removably assembled thereto by inserting abdominal floats in a housing provided for this purpose. In this way, the cervical portion can be kept external to the item of clothing, in particular when it is inflated, which reduces the constraints on the volume of this portion and enables it to confer sufficient buoyancy to keep the respiratory tracts of the wearer out of the water.

Despite the removable character of the bladder, the protective garment offers high safety since the item of clothing can be closed to prevent the bladder becoming detached unintentionally. In addition, by providing a housing for containing the cervical portion of the bladder when it is deflated, while releasing the cervical portion during inflation thereof, this cervical portion is thus concealed and does not receive attention from young children.

Finally, the removable characteristic of the bladder also makes it possible to keep an inflatable bladder but to renew only the item of clothing, in the case for example of wear or when the child grows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features, details and advantages will emerge from the reading of the following detailed description, and from the analysis of the accompanying drawings, on which:

FIG. 1 shows an example of a protective garment according to a first embodiment seen from the front, when the inflatable bladder is deflated.

FIG. 2 shows the example of the protective garment of FIG. 1 seen from the back, when the inflatable bladder is deflated.

FIG. 3 shows the example of the protective garment of FIG. 1 in three-quarter view when the inflatable bladder is inflated.

FIG. 4 shows the example of the protective garment of FIG. 1 seen from behind when the inflatable bladder is inflated.

FIG. 5 shows an inflatable bladder that can be used in the protective garment.

FIG. 6A shows schematically an example of a pattern for producing a jersey of a protective garment according to the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6B shows schematically an example of a pattern for producing a jersey of a protective garment according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows schematically an example of a hydrostatic trigger.

FIG. 8 shows schematically an example of a housing in the front face of a protective garment.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a protective garment according to a second embodiment corresponding to that of FIG. 6B seen from the front, when the bladder is deflated.

FIG. 10 shows the example of the protective garment of FIG. 9 seen from the back, when the bladder is deflated.

FIG. 11 shows the example of the protective garment of FIG. 9 seen from the front, when the bladder is inflated.

FIG. 12 shows the example of the protective garment of FIG. 9 seen from the back, when the bladder is inflated.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1 et seq., a description will now be given of a garment 1 for protecting against drowning. This garment can in particular but not exclusively be used for protecting young children against drowning, i.e. those weighing less than 30 kg (children of less than 6 years), including very young children weighing less than 15 kg (children of less than 3 years).

The garment 1 for protecting against drowning comprises an item of clothing 10, intended to be worn on the torso of the user. This item of clothing can take the form for example of a T-shirt with short or long sleeves or have another cut, for example of the polo shirt type. The item of clothing 10 is produced from a stretch-mesh textile material, comprising for example polyester, polyamide (also known by the commercial name nylon), spandex, etc., for example. The material selected for producing the item of clothing can provide anti-UV protection.

The item of clothing 10 comprises a front face 11 intended to cover the abdomen of the user and a rear face 12 intended to cover the back of the user. It can also comprise sleeves 13 and/or a collar 14, joined to the front face and to the rear face, the shape of which can be any and can vary according to the style sought.

The protective garment furthermore comprises an inflatable bladder 20, shown schematically on FIG. 5, the inflatable bladder comprising two main abdominal floats 21, i.e. intended to be worn on the abdomen of the user. These floats 21 are airtight inflatable cavities. The abdominal floats 21 are connected together by a cervical portion 22 intended to be worn around the neck of the user. The cervical portion 22 is also an airtight inflatable cavity. The abdominal floats 21 and the cervical portion 22 are in fluid communication with each other so as to effectively form a single airtight cavity. In this regard, the inflatable bladder comprises two connecting portions 23, each connecting an abdominal float to the cervical portion, the connecting portions being intended to rest on the shoulders of the user.

In embodiments, each connecting portion is a so-called narrowed portion 23, having a reduced width compared with the width of each abdominal float.

The protective garment 1 also comprises an inflator 30 of the bladder 20, this device 30 being adapted to inflate the bladder automatically when the inflator is in contact with water. In this regard, with reference to FIG. 7, the inflator can include a compressed-gas cartridge 31 and a trigger 32, the trigger being adapted to put the compressed-gas cartridge 31 in fluid communication with the internal cavity of the inflatable bladder automatically in the event of contact with water (arrow in broken lines on FIG. 7).

The trigger 32 is preferably a trigger of the hydrostatic type, example such as those marketed under the trademark Hammar, for example the model Hammar MA1. Such a trigger 32 comprises a hydrostatic valve 320 opening, when it is subjected to a hydrostatic pressure above a threshold, to let water enter in contact with a water-sensitive element 321, for example soluble, which releases a spring (not shown) piercing the compressed-gas cartridge and thus putting the cartridge in fluid communication with the abdominal pouch of the inflatable bladder. The pressure threshold can correspond to an immersion greater than 10 cm. The use of a hydrostatic trigger makes it possible to make the triggering dependent on a minimum water pressure and therefore to avoid unwanted triggering that would be caused merely by splashing.

In a variant, the trigger 32 can also be of the hydro-soluble type.

The inflator 30 can be positioned on the front face 11 of the item of clothing 10, at an abdominal float 21 of the inflatable bladder, so that the compressed-gas cartridge 31 is in fluid communication with this float.

Optionally, and in particular in the case where the garment is provided for the use of an adult or of an adolescent, it can furthermore comprise an additional manual trigger.

The inflatable bladder 20 is removably connected to the item of clothing 10. In this regard, and as shown schematically on FIG. 8, the front face 11 of the item of clothing comprises a housing 110 shaped to receive the abdominal floats 21 of the inflatable bladder, the housing 110 opening out via two openings 111 via which each abdominal float can be removably inserted in the housing 110.

To produce the housing, the front face 11 of the item of clothing is advantageously made from a yoke comprising several superimposed layers of fabric F1, F2, including a so-called top layer F2, which is the outermost layer of the yoke, and at least one so-called bottom layer F1, and the housing is defined between two consecutive layers, typically between the top layer and the adjacent bottom layer.

In advantageous examples, and as illustrated on FIG. 9, the inflator 30 is positioned between the so-called bottom layer of fabric F1 and the so-called top layer of fabric F2. Consequently, the inflator 30, in particular when it comprises a gas cartridge 31 and a trigger 32, is concealed under the so-called top layer of fabric F2, and the protective garment cannot be distinguished from a conventional garment by an external observer. This also makes it possible to prevent a child from manipulating the gas cartridge 31 and/or possibly the trigger 32, so as to avoid any inopportune triggering.

Optionally, the housing 110 can comprise two compartments 112, each compartment 112 being shaped to receive a respective abdominal float of the inflatable bladder. The two compartments 112 can be delimited by a seam 113 between the two superimposed layers of fabric between which the housing is defined, this seam being for example able to extend vertically from the neckline of the yoke to the base thereof, at equal distances from the two lateral edges of the front face.

The housing is preferably shaped to entirely receive each abdominal float, and so that the part of the inflatable bladder emerging from the housing at the two openings 111 corresponds to each narrowed section 23. To this end, the housing 110 is sized so that the openings 111 through which the housing emerges is located in proximity to the upper edge of the front face 11 and, in use, the shoulders of the user. In addition, the width of each opening 111 is preferably greater than or equal to the width of a narrowed section 23, but strictly less than the width of an abdominal float. This makes it possible, once the inflatable bladder 20 is inserted in the housing, to prevent it from emerging therefrom easily, including during inflation.

Optionally, the inflatable bladder can also comprise a means of releasably assembling it with the item of clothing, for example press studs or magnetic buttons, one part of which is connected to the inflatable bladder, and the other part of which is connected to the item of clothing.

In one embodiment, each opening 111 of the housing is formed between the upper edges of the top layer of fabric and the bottom layer of the front face of the item of clothing, only the bottom layer of the front face of the jersey being sewn to the sleeve or to the rear face of the jersey.

With reference to FIG. 6A, an example of a pattern for producing an item of clothing comprising this type of opening has been shown, which corresponds to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. In this example, the yokes comprise the front face 11 comprising a top layer F2 and a bottom layer F1, the rear face 12, two sleeves 13 and a collar 14. Identical figurations are shown on the edges of the yokes sewn together. Each sleeve is joined on one hand to the rear face 12 and to the bottom layer of the front face 11 (x figuration). The longitudinal edges of each sleeve are sewn together (vertical ˜ figuration) to close each sleeve. The lateral edges of the front face and of the rear face are sewn together (horizontal ˜ and = figuration). The collar is next sewn, in this example, to the sleeves and to the front and rear faces (triangle figuration). The top face is sewn to the bottom face by two lateral seam lines, and optionally a third central seam line (diamond figuration). This step can be carried out first, i.e., before sewing the sleeves to the bottom layer of the front face and to the rear face.

In the example in FIG. 6A, an item of clothing 10 is shown having an armhole of the raglan type, in which the front face 11 and the rear face 12 are not directly sewn together but are sewn to each sleeve 13, with a seam joining a sleeve and each face of the jersey extending from the hollow of the armpit as far as the neckline. This implementation is however not limitative, and the design of the openings delimited by the upper edges of the two layers of the front face also applies in the case of a conventional armhole, in which the upper edge of the front face is sewn to the upper edge of the rear face. This is the case in particular with another embodiment shown in FIGS. 6B and 9 to 12. The bottom layer of the front face of the jersey is then sewn to the rear face, and the openings remain formed between the upper edges of the top layer and of the bottom layer of fabric, at the seam with the rear face. The collar is then sewn only to the front and rear faces of the jersey.

The inflatable bladder 20 can therefore be removably assembled to the item of clothing 10 by inserting each abdominal float 21 in the housing 110 of the front face of the item of clothing. The cervical portion 22, for its part, is external to this housing.

The item of clothing is furthermore shaped so that the cervical portion 22 is located outside the item of clothing in the inflated state. With reference to FIG. 5, as well as to FIGS. 3, 4, 11 and 12, which show a protective garment 1 in which the bladder is inflated, the cervical portion comprises a free end 220 forming the opposite end of the inflatable bladder with respect to the ends 221 of the abdominal floats. As can be seen on these Figures, the fact that the cervical portion is outside the item of clothing in the inflated state makes it possible for the inflation of the cervical portion to cause the tensioning of the bladder and the raising of this free end with respect to the rear face of the item of clothing. This then enables the cervical portion to support the head and to keep the respiratory tracts out of the water.

In one embodiment, the cervical portion 22 is external to the item of clothing in the inflated state and in the deflated state. However, in an embodiment for protecting young children, the item of clothing comprises an adapted housing 15 for housing the cervical portion in the deflated state, and for opening to release the cervical portion during inflation. The housing 15 can be formed for example in the rear face of the item of clothing as in the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12 or, as in the example embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, it can be formed by the rear face of the item of clothing and an additional yoke provided for this purpose.

The housing 15 can furthermore comprise a removable fastener 16 (not shown on FIGS. 1 to 4) that is adapted to yield under the pressure exerted on the fastening device by the cervical portion during inflation of the latter. This fastening device can for example be selected from: one or more Velcro strips, one or more press studs, one or more magnetic buttons, or a bursting zip fastener.

In one embodiment, an example of which is shown in FIGS. 9 to 12, and a pattern of which is illustrated in FIG. 6B, the housing 15 made in the rear face 12 of the item of clothing is formed between two superimposed textile layers comprising a bottom layer D1 and a top layer D2 having a cutout 17 defining two textile panels 151 removably connected together by the removable fastener 16 and able to separate to release the cervical portion of the detachable bladder during inflation thereof. The cutout can be substantially vertical and located at the middle of the rear face 12 of the item of clothing, i.e. along the vertebral column of the wearer. The removable fastener 16 can be formed by complementary components attached to the two textile panels 151, which thus for example each carry a part of one or more press studs or magnetic buttons, one a Velcro strip and the other a hook tape, or each one half of a bursting zip fastener.

With reference to FIG. 6B, in this embodiment, the armhole of the item of clothing is advantageously a conventional armhole in which the front face 11 is sewn to the rear face 12. The bottom layer D1 of the rear face can be sewn at the shoulders to the bottom face F1 of the front face (figurations in a cross on FIG. 6B), and the top layer D2 of the rear face, in which the textile panels 151 defining the housing are formed, can be sewn at the shoulders to the top face F2 of the front face (shown in FIG. 6B). It is thus possible to insert the abdominal floats of the inflatable bladder via the openings formed between the bottom layer F1 and the top layer F2 of the front face 11, these openings being accessible when the housing is open and the panels 151 of the top layer of the rear face are separated. Advantageously, but non-limitatively, the top layer D2 of the rear face of the item of clothing can cover only a portion of the bottom layer, this portion being sized so that the housing defined between the bottom and top layers enables the cervical portion of the inflatable bladder to be stored in the deflated state. In a variant, the top layer D2 can cover the whole of the bottom layer D1, and the housing of the cervicale portion of the inflatable bladder can be defined by a seam provided for this purpose.

In another embodiment, of which FIGS. 1 to 4 are an illustration, the item of clothing 10 advantageously comprises a flange 150 that is shaped to contain the cervical portion 22, preferably folded, of the inflatable bladder when it is deflated. The flange 150 can thus comprise a strip of fabric sewn to the collar or to the rear face of the item of clothing 10, having a transverse dimension, measured in the direction extending from the neck towards the bottom of the back, that is sufficiently wide to make it possible to house the cervical portion of the inflatable bladder. The flange 150 is advantageously kept attached to the rear face of the jersey by a removable fastening device selected from the examples mentioned above. For example, this removable fastening device can comprise a part attached to the free edge of the flange, opposite to the sewn edge, and an opposite part attached to the rear face of the item of clothing. In this embodiment, the housing 15 of the cervical portion of the bladder is therefore formed conjointly by the flange 150 and the rear face of the item of clothing. The removable fixing device makes it possible to close the flange over the cervical portion of the bladder. When the bladder is inflated, the increase in volume caused by the inflation exerts on the removable fixing device a sufficient force to separate the two parts of the fastening device and thus, as can be seen on FIG. 4, allow the cervical portion to fully deploy.

The flange 150 can advantageously be sewn to the upper edges of the top layer of the front face of the item of clothing, so as also to cover the narrowed portions 23 of the bladder and thus completely conceal the part of the inflatable bladder that is not included in the housing of the front face. In this regard, the flange 150 can have a width at its ends that corresponds:

- to the width of the seam between the front face of the jersey and the mesh in the case of a raglan armhole—FIG. 6 thus shows, by broken lines, the figurations representing the seam between the yokes of the flange and the top face F2 of the front face of the jersey, or
- to the width of the seam between the front face and the rear face of the jersey in the case of a conventional armhole.

In all cases, the housing 15 receiving the cervical portion of the inflatable bladder enables the latter to be completely concealed when it is deflated, which makes it possible to avoid children manipulating it through curiosity.

The protective garment described above therefore houses an inflatable bladder adapted to ensure buoyancy of the wearer, this bladder also being removable while being kept connected to the item of clothing. In the case where the protective garment is designed for young children, the inflatable bladder is advantageously selected with a volume once inflated of at least 3 L for use up to a weight of the child of 15 kg or 4 L up to 30 kg. However, the size of the bladder before inflation is sufficiently small to enable it to be inserted in a jersey for a 2-year-old size, which therefore makes it possible to recover the inflatable bladder when the child grows between 2 years and approximately 6 years so as to replace only the jersey.

LIST OF NUMERICAL REFERENCES

- 1: protective garment
- 10: item of clothing
- 11: front face
- 110: housing
- 111: housing opening
- 112: housing compartment
- 113: seam
- 12: rear face
- 13: sleeve
- 14: collar
- 15: housing
- 150: flange
- 151: textile panels of the housing
- 16: removable fastener of the housing
- 17: cutout
- 20: inflatable bladder
- 21: abdominal float
- 22: cervical portion
- 220: end of the bladder on the cervical portion side
- 221: end of the bladder on the abdominal float side
- 23: connecting portion
- 30: inflator
- 31: cartridge
- 32: trigger
- 320: hydrostatic valve
- 321: water-sensitive element
- F1: bottom layer of the front-face yoke
- F2: top layer of the front-face yoke
- D1: bottom layer of the rear-face yoke
- D2: top layer of the rear-face yoke

Number	Date	Country	Kind
FR2202046	Mar 2022	FR	national
FR2204690	May 2022	FR	national

IMPROVED GARMENT PROTECTING AGAINST DROWNING

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