Patent Application
20230211860
Life belts can be categorized into two groups: one of them is the group of swimming aids, which are basically sportswear that facilitates movement in water, the other is the group of water rescue equipment.
Fixed buoyancy swim belts are designed for specific purposes—usually to keep a person afloat in un upright position, but separate types had to be constructed for specific tasks. The invention of the American FREEDOM FLOAT crossed a diving buoy with a belt. The result is a cylinder inflatable tube that can be worn on a belt, and in case of danger, the tube can be inflated using a panic cord.
As development progressed, swim vests became available, even before World War I. It was discovered early in the developmental process that the structure of swim vests is pivotal, as they need to hold an unconscious body on the surface of the water with the face being considerably higher than the surface itself. This needed a specific construction which turned the unconscious person face-up. Compared to swim vests, considerably more buoyancy was needed to effectively achieve the so-called buoy effect. Swim vests and life vests are not the same. Their purpose is different. In the case of swim vests, turning the face is not important, just as effectiveness, i.e., keeping the body too high, is not important either. However, with life vests, maintaining buoyancy in any circumstance is of utmost importance. Swim vests need to control buoyancy, often from zero. Older life vests—because they neglected turning the face—could only function as swim vests, even though they were used in different instances. Therefore, they became the cause of numerous unfortunate accidents. The production of traditional inflatable life vests has seen an incline recently. In many cases, life vests are used during the teaching of swimming, which is a faulty method.
Traditional vests are inflated using a CO2 cylinder when submerged, which can be activated by a water-sensitive mechanism. While user-activated vests are fitted with a panic cord that activates the inflation mechanism when pulled. The inflation itself is very quick, and usually takes approximately 2-5 seconds. If we use this method to inflate a vest that was originally made to be a life vest, it will turn its user face up on the surface. If we inflate it partially, at 10% of its overall capacity, either by using our mouth or a nominally smaller CO2 cylinder (e.g., half a load), it can be used as a swim vest as well. Note that the latter method may not provide sufficient buoyancy. Another problem is caused by the fact that, while inflating may be easy, deflating most life vests requires two hands and a pointed object pressing the valve, which makes this kind of use troublesome.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,355 describes an inflatable rescue appliance consisting of an elongated, straight inflatable part and a fixture which is attached to the inflatable part and encircles the wrist of the wearer. The actuator is attached to a gas generator in or adjacent to the inflatable part so that, during the operation of the actuator, a certain amount of gas flows into the inflatable part to inflate it, providing buoyancy to the wearer. The fixture exposes the ends of the inflatable part and allows it to inflate. The disadvantage of this design is that it does not ensure that the wearer's head is lifted out of the water. Due to the fixed position, it is doubtful whether not only the wearer's waist, but their head is also lifted above the water, and whether the wearer is turned over to their back at all.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,279 describes a life-saving inflatable safety belt. The first belt is effectively hollow and is fastened around the waist. In this case, it is filled with compressed gas from an attached cartridge so that it extends and opens when being filled with the compressed gas. As per the invention, the second belt is fastened at the bottom of the waist, below the first belt, in the conventional construction. When compressed gas flows into the first belt, its length increases, becomes tubular and pops under the armpit to hold the wearer vertically in the water, as a life-saving device, allowing the wearer to swim with the device. The front belt is attached to the belt around the waist. After inflation, the strap connecting both ends of the belt allows the first belt to rise under the arms of the person who is submerged in the water, or eve up to the neck if the shoulders are tucked under it. With this solution, the strap connecting the ends of the front belt must be adjusted very precisely so that it can rise to the correct position. If the wearer's abdominal circumference exceeds the circumference of the upper body, the wearer can easily slip out of it, especially if they “panic”. If the front belt cannot rise because the strap is too tight, it raises the waist of the person in the water, causing them to turn face down into the water. By tying the ends together with an elastic strap, the level of elasticity must ensure that it is not too stretchy in case of a thinner body, but at the same time can be stretched to a suitable size in case of a thicker body. At the same time, this solution has the first belt comprised of separate parts (pieces, items) that are typically connected at the face or abdomen, therefore there is a lack of continuity in the rescue device exactly where it is most needed, i.e., to lift the head or the face out of the water. This solution is also a swimming aid, e.g., for swimming lessons. It has been proven that it is not advisable to use the same design for a life saving device and a swimming aid. This results in an instrument that is good for everything, but not perfect for anything. Moreover, the device is designed with an excessive belt, which not only adds weight but also reduces comfort.
The purpose of our model is to make previously known water rescue devices safer and more usable, i.e., to develop a rescue device and not a swimming aid. It has now been found that if the belt is shaped such that it surrounds the body like a pair of scissors or pliers with protruding ends, the device can greatly adapt to the circumference of the body. Attachment to the waist with the second belt can provide fastening of the life belt to the wearer in a known manner. In addition, we can clearly position the life belt under the armpit to ensure that the wearer is in a properly secure posture after falling into the water without them having to do anything. Therefore, it is clearly suitable for keeping a person in the water on the surface.
Our model thus consists of a self-inflating water rescue device, consisting of a waist-belt and a life belt connected to a pressurized gas cylinder attached to an opening device. On at least one part of the outer wall of the belt, there is a storage pocket (case) formed by a fix wall and a loose, sliding wall, the former of which is the outer wall of the belt itself. The life belt is arranged in the storage case, and the belt and the life belt are connected to each other by a safety strap. A release cord is connected to the opening device on one end, the other end it is placed outside the water rescue device. The life belt is also provided with a release valve. Essentially, the life belt has a substantially interrupted circumferential shape, the ends of which are overlapping at the interruption—in the gas-filled state—and folded into the case much like in the shape of an accordion/fan when the life belt is gas-free.
Some characteristic advantages of our model are described in the claims and some characteristic advantages are shown in the figures.
The purpose of the model is to make previously known water rescue devices safer and more usable, i.e., to develop a rescue device and not a swimming aid. It has now been found that if the belt is shaped such that it surrounds the body like a pair of scissors or pliers with protruding ends, the device can greatly adapt to the circumference of the body. Attachment to the waist with the second belt can provide fastening of the life belt to the wearer in a known manner. In addition, we can clearly position the life belt under the armpit to ensure that the wearer is in a properly secure posture after falling into the water without them having to do anything. Therefore, it is clearly suitable for keeping a person in the water on the surface.
The model consists of a self-inflating water rescue device, consisting of a waist-belt and a life belt connected to a pressurized gas cylinder attached to an opening device. On at least one part of the outer wall of the belt, there is a storage pocket (case) formed by a fix wall and a loose, sliding wall, the former of which is the outer wall of the belt itself. The life belt is arranged in the storage case, and the belt and the life belt are connected to each other by a safety strap. A release cord is connected to the opening device on one end, the other end it is placed outside the water rescue device. The life belt is also provided with a release valve. Essentially, the life belt has a substantially interrupted circumferential shape, the ends of which are overlapping at the interruption—in the gas-filled state—and folded into the case much like in the shape of an accordion/fan when the life belt is gas-free.
