SWIMMING AID

Abstract

A swimming aid comprises a body member and a pair of buoyant sleeve members attached to opposite sides of the body member. Each sleeve member is configured to receive an arm of the user therethrough by way of an opening in the sleeve member. Each sleeve member includes an adjustable fastener to allow the expansion of the opening of said sleeve member to facilitate the receipt arm of the user into and through the sleeve member.

Description

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to swimming aids and particularly to swimming aids incorporating buoyant sleeves that assist in keeping a child afloat while the child is being taught to swim.

Flotation devices are often used to help teach children to swim. For example, the teacher may employ life preservers, kickboards, buoyant vests, and/or inflatable sleeves to help keep the child afloat. The instant invention provides a swimming aid comprising a pair of buoyant sleeves attached to a body member that fits around the shoulders and/or the torso of the child. The device is easy to fit onto a child and easy to remove because an adjustable fastener in the sleeve allows for the adjustment or opening of the sleeve so that the child's arms may be comfortably introduced into and removed from the sleeve.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying figures, which are schematic and are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the figures, each identical or nearly identical component illustrated is typically represented by a single numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component is labeled in every figure, nor is every component of each embodiment of the invention shown where illustration is not necessary to allow those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention. In the figures:

FIG. 1 depicts a swimming aid according to one aspect of the instant invention.

FIG. 2 depicts the front of the swimming aid.

FIG. 3 depicts the back of the swimming aid.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the swimming aid.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the swimming aid, with the zippers in open position.

FIG. 6 illustrates the swimming aid in place on a user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A swimming aid 10 according to one aspect of the instant invention is depicted in FIG. 1. Buoyant sleeve members 12 and 14 are substantially cylindrical in shape and comprise a buoyant core enclosed in a fabric cover such as a polyester. Each sleeve member includes an opening 16 (See FIGS. 5 and 6 below) to allow insertion of a child's arm into and through the sleeve.

In this aspect of the invention, body member 18 is attached to the inner end of each sleeve member 12 and 14, as described more fully below. The body member may be comprised of various materials of different lengths to cover less or more of the torso of the user. The buoyant core may comprise foam material or plastic bladders or cylinders of known construction. In this aspect of the invention, the fabric material is 120 gsm polyester interlock, while the foam material is expanded polyethylene foam (EPE). Other appropriate and known materials may be selected by those of ordinary skill in the art.

FIG. 2 depicts the front of swimming aid 10. Edge stitching 38 is shown across the back collar edge 40 as well as along its bottom edge 42, and along the front side inner edges 44 and 46 of shoulder portions 22 and 24.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the back of swimming aid 10. Body member 18 includes a center portion 20 and shoulder portions 22 and 24, which have a somewhat triangular configuration. Shoulder portions 22 and 24 may include a buoyant core as well.

The inner edges 26 and 28 of buoyant sleeve members 12 and 14 are attached to the outer edges 30 and 32 of shoulder portions 22 and 24, respectively, preferably by stitching. The inner edges 34 and 36 of the shoulder portions are stitched to center portion 20 of the body member 18.

As seen in FIG. 4, each of the sleeve members 12 and 14 incorporates an adjustable fastener, here zippers 48 and 50, respectively, that allows the sleeve member to be opened up or expanded, as in FIG. 5, to facilitate insertion of the child's arm into and through the sleeve member. In this illustration, the zipper extends approximately three-quarters of the way across the sleeve, but a different length for the zipper could be chosen to facilitate ever greater ease of access or egress. Other adjustable fastener devices such as hook-and-loop or button snaps might be employed instead of zippers. Moreover, the zippers need not be located at the bottom of the sleeves, but may be placed at other locations on the sleeves, as desired.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a child wearing the swimming aid device disclosed herein.

Those skilled in the art may readily recognize various alterations, modifications, and improvements, including increased torso coverage to accommodate a larger size range and increased fit properties. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting.

While several embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the functions and/or obtaining the results and/or one of more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the present invention. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are mean to be exemplary and the actual parameters, dimensions, materials and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the teachings of the present invention is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments of the invention described herein. It is therefore to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, with the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. The present invention is directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A swimming aid to be worn by a user, comprising: a body member having a first edge and a second edge; anda pair of buoyant sleeve members each having an inner end and an outer end, the inner ends being attached, respectively, to opposite edges of the body member, wherein each sleeve member is configured to receive an arm of the user therethrough by way of an opening in the sleeve member, and wherein each sleeve member includes an adjustable fastener to allow the expansion of the opening of said sleeve member to facilitate the receipt arm of the user through the sleeve member.

2. The swimming aid of claim 1 wherein the body member is adapted to fit over the shoulders of the user.

3. The swimming aid of claim 2 wherein the sleeve members are comprised of an inner core surrounded by a fabric layer.

4. The swimming aid of claim 3 wherein the inner core member is comprised of closed cell foam.

5. The swimming aid of claim 1 wherein the sleeve members are substantially cylindrical, and the opening extends substantially along the axis of the cylinder.

6. The swimming aid of claim 2 wherein the sleeve members are substantially cylindrical, and the opening extends substantially along the axis of the cylinder.

7. The swimming aid of claim 3 wherein the sleeve members are substantially cylindrical, and the opening extends substantially along the axis of the cylinder.

8. The swimming aid of claim 4 wherein the sleeve members are substantially cylindrical, and the opening extends substantially along the axis of the cylinder.