Patent Application
20170006932
The present disclosure relates to systems and components thereof that provide a user with at least partial protection from ultraviolet radiation and/or with personal flotation assistance.
Infants, toddlers, small children, or individuals who do not know how to swim may need to use personal flotation devices or life preservers while participating in water activities in a swimming pool or a lake at a public recreational area. Swimwear or bodysuits may also be used to protect an individual from ultraviolet radiation while they are participating in water activities. Swimwear and flotation devices may be combined for convenience purposes. However, swimwear/flotation device combinations tend to be bulky and uncomfortable when an individual is no longer participating in water activities or taking a break from water activities.
A system to provide partial ultraviolet protection and partial buoyancy is provided. The system includes a suit and a flotation vest. The suit has an integrated first connector and is configured to at least partially cover a user's torso region and a portion of the user's appendages. The flotation vest has a mating connector configured to detachably connect the suit and vest when the integrated first connector and the mating connector are engaged with one another.
An activity suit for outdoor activities is provided. The activity suit includes a waist portion extending about a waist region, a first connector integrated with the waist portion at a belt buckle region, and a second connector integrated with the waist portion at a rear central region opposite the belt buckle region. The suit is sized to cover a user's torso region and a portion the user's appendages. The connectors are configured to engage with mating connectors of a flotation vest in order to secure the flotation vest and suit to one another.
A flotation vest is provided. The flotation vest includes a front portion and a back portion. The front portion is secured to the back portion by a pair of shoulder restraints that each wraps around one of each of a user's shoulders and a second pair of side restraints that each wraps around one of each of the user's side regions. The flotation vest also includes first and second connectors that engage corresponding connectors of a separate swim suit.
Embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein. It is to be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples and other embodiments may take various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features could be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present disclosure. As those of ordinary skill in the art will understand, various features illustrated and described with reference to any one of the figures may be combined with features illustrated in one or more other figures to produce embodiments that are not explicitly illustrated or described. The combinations of features illustrated provide representative embodiments for typical applications. Various combinations and modifications of the features consistent with the teachings of this disclosure, however, could be desired for particular applications or implementations.
Referring to
For example, a first connector 16 may assist in securing a flotation vest to an exterior of the suit 10 as further described below. The first connector 16 may be integrated with a waist portion 18 of the suit 10. For example, the first connector 16 may be positioned at a belt buckle region 19 of the waist portion 18 on a front side of the suit 10. A second connector 17 may be integrated with the waist portion 18 of the suit 10. For example, the second connector 17 may be positioned at a rear central region 21 on a back side of the suit 10 and substantially opposite the belt buckle region 19. The first connector 16 and the second connector 17 may be secured to the suit 10 and at least partially hidden by other portions of the suit 10. The disclosure, however, should not be construed as limited to the configuration depicted in
The suit 10 may include a central portion 20 which covers a user's torso region. The suit 10 may include sleeve portions 22 and leg portions 24 to cover at least a portion of the user's appendages (arms and/or legs). In one example, and as described above, the suit 10 may assist in protecting the user from ultraviolet radiation. Alternatively, the sleeve portions 22 and leg portions 24 may extend to cover more or an entirety of the appendages (arms and/or legs) of the user.
The suit 10 may include a fastener 26 to assist in securing the suit 10 to a user. Zippers, buttons, or hook and loop fasteners, (e.g., Velcro™) are examples suitable for fastener 26. The fastener 26 is shown on the back side 14 of the suit 10 but may be placed at other suitable locations on either the front side 12 or back side 14 of the suit 10. The suit 10 may be made from a fabric or cloth material such as, but not limited to, cotton, nylon, lycra or elastane (i.e., spandex™) polyester, neoprene (e.g., wet suit material), or other materials.
The front portion 30 and back portion 32 of the flotation vest 28 may be comprised of a material, such as fabric or cloth, which surrounds or houses one or more flotation compartments 38. Examples of suitable material for the front portion 30 and the back portion 32 include, but are not limited to, cotton, nylon, lycra, elastane, polyester, or neoprene. The flotation compartments 38 may be filled with air or a material having buoyant characteristics in water. Examples of suitable material for the flotation compartments 38 include, but are not limited to, cellophane polyethylene (PE) foam, Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foam, polyvinyl-chloride foam, or Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) foam. The flotation compartments 38 may vary in size relative to one another may be arranged with one another to define a muscle pattern. The flotation compartments 38 may be selectively inflatable. For example, the each of the flotation compartments 38 may include a port (not shown) sized to facilitate connection with an air pump (not shown) such that the flotation compartments 38 may be inflated.
The front portion 30 or the back portion 32 may include a designated surface area 39 that is sized for the placement of a message or logo. The size and shape of the designated surface area 39 may be altered to fit various messages or logos. As mentioned above, the designated surface area 39 may be shaped and sized to fit the logo of popular superheroes or action heroes.
The first pair of restraints 34 and second pair of restraints 36 may be comprised of a fabric or cloth material. The fabric material may include any suitable fabric material, such as, but not limited to, cotton, nylon, lycra, elastane, polyester, neoprene, or any other fabric material. The first pair of restraints 34 and second pair of restraints 36 may be made from a non-elastic material, such as nylon, or an elastic material, such as lycra or elastane. Some of the restraints may be made of a non-elastic material while other restraints may be made of an elastic material. For example, the first pair of restraints 34 may be made of a non-elastic material while the second pair of restraints 36 may be made of an elastic material.
The flotation vest 28 may include mating connectors 40 that are configured to engage with the first connector 16 and the second connector 17 of the suit 10 in order to detachably secure the flotation vest 28 to the exterior of the suit 10.
The first connector 16 and the second connector 17 of the suit 10 and the mating connectors 40 of the flotation vest 28 may be comprised of opposing components of a fastening device, such as a snap buckle, release buckle, snap-release buckle, double ring buckle, cam buckle, or any other suitable fastening device/buckle.
Referring to
The words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. As previously described, the features of various embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the disclosure that may not be explicitly described or illustrated. While various embodiments could have been described as providing advantages or being preferred over other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one or more desired characteristics, those of ordinary skill in the art recognize that one or more features or characteristics may be compromised to achieve desired overall system attributes, which depend on the specific application and implementation. These attributes may include, but are not limited to cost, strength, durability, life cycle cost, marketability, appearance, packaging, size, serviceability, weight, manufacturability, ease of assembly, etc. As such, embodiments described as less desirable than other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to one or more characteristics are not outside the scope of the disclosure and may be desirable for particular applications.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62189942 | Jul 2015 | US |
