Buoys – rafts – and aquatic devices – Water rescue or life protecting apparatus – Personal flotation device
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-15
2003-07-15
Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3617)
Buoys, rafts, and aquatic devices
Water rescue or life protecting apparatus
Personal flotation device
C405S186000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06592417
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a diving jacket having a buoyancy regulating function.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1993-112291A discloses a diving jacket including a buoyancy regulator for diving which comprises a buoyancy regulating bag provided with a pair of shoulder belts and a waist belt. The shoulder belts extend downward from respective shoulder regions of the buoyancy regulating bag and fixed to the waist belt. The waist belt comprises a pair of belt members extending from both sides of a wearer's waist region in a circumferential direction and fixed to a back-plate lying on back of the buoyancy regulating bag by means of plural bolts.
In the case of the above-cited well known buoyancy regulator, the high tension generated as the shoulder belts are length-adjusted is inevitably transmitted to the belt members usually made of flexible woven fabric so that these belt members may be partially shifted upward. Consequently, the air cylinder carried on the diver's back may often shift and make it difficult for the diver to stabilize his or her center of gravity, i.e., his or her body.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a principal object of this invention to improve the diving jacket so that, once the jacket has been worn, the air cylinder carried on the diver's back can be retained against vertically shifting even if the shoulder belts are length-adjusted by the diver.
According to this invention, there is provided a diving jacket comprising a jacket adapted to be inflated with air for buoyancy regulation, a back-plate mounted on inner surface of the jacket's back so as to extend in vertical direction of the jacket so that a cylinder for supply of the air is fixed thereto, a pair of length-adjustable shoulder belts extending downward from respective shoulder regions of the jacket and a length-adjustable waist belt extending in a circumferential direction of the jacket.
The waist belt comprises a pair of belt members extending from both sides of waist of the wearer of the diving jacket in the circumferential direction, each of these belt members having a circumferentially front end region detachably connected to the other belt member and a rear end region opposed to the front end region wherein the rear end region is fixed to the back-plate by means of a connector plate made of material harder than that of the belt member and disposed between the rear end region and the back-plate; and each of the shoulder belts has its lower end region fixed to the connector plate being provided at least partially in the circumferential direction with a particularly high flexibility entirely in its vertical direction.
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Kawana Kenji
Kawashima Haruo
Takeuchi Minoru
Clark & Brody
Morano S. Joseph
Olson Lars A.
Tabata Co. Ltd.
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