Buoys – rafts – and aquatic devices – Water rescue or life protecting apparatus – Personal flotation device
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-07
2004-08-17
Wright, Andrew (Department: 3617)
Buoys, rafts, and aquatic devices
Water rescue or life protecting apparatus
Personal flotation device
Reexamination Certificate
active
06776678
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improving the inherently buoyant Life Jacket's ability to roll the flaccid, unconscious victim, from an airway-submerged face down position into an airway protected face up position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Currently inherently buoyant Life Jackets are sized to fit all adults. Due to their rigidity, the foam personal flotation device (“PFD”) that can accommodate a 300 lb. adult is loose on a 100 LB adult. Consequently when a large percentage of adults lose consciousness, and thus muscular tension in the cervical spinal muscles, the head is free to act under the influence of gravity where it falls forward or to the side totally dependent upon PFD positioning. The head represents 14-17 lbs. of ballast that is more than capable of overpowering the PFD's best efforts to roll the victim from face down to face up.
One current example of the consequences of cephalic dominated surface positioning is that in a single commercial boating accident this last year 16 people drowned while wearing Life Jackets. 50% drowned because their PFD failed to turn them from face down to face up while the other 50% drown after they slipped partially out of their Life Jackets. The variably sized cephalic restraint disclosed herein directly remedies both these deficiencies.
The synergistic application of eccentric ballast and buoyancy in the production of a reliable heads up positioning of the flaccid unconscious victim lost at sea requires that the Life Jacket firmly yet without compression control the positioning of the victim's head and neck. Since the head typically weighs 14-17 pounds when held out of the water, the eccentric ballast of the victim's head draped off to one side exceeds the applied eccentric airway protective buoyancy and ballast by a factor of 7 to 17 fold. As the PFD attempts to roll the unconscious victim from a face down airway submerged position where the head is submerged its ballast impacting PFD performance is minimal out of the water, the impact of the eccentric head opposes the rotation about the axis in ever increasing fashion. Often as the head surfaces its ballast eventually grinds the rescue rotation to a halt just shy of adequate surface positioning.
The ability of the combined set of forces acting upon the unconscious victim, in particular the upward force of eccentric buoyancy and the downward force of eccentric ballast, to produce their optimal angular acceleration depends on where and how the force is applied and upon what resistances develop opposing those rotational forces. Until the present invention, described below, testers to varying degree, through their choice of tests and through their musculature rigidity, assisted the PFD in appearing to pass to the 5 second turning test. The current international standard three stroke turning test, allows the tester to utilize numerous skeletal muscles that result in the tester oscillating about their axis of rotation as they perform the three strokes immediately prior to ‘feigning unconsciousness’. The forward velocity generated by the three strokes buffets the head and forward aspects of the PFD contributing initiating angular acceleration creating instability in the tester-PFD system. Secondary to various tester contributions many PFDs are “Tested and Approved” to the 5 second turning test but are susceptible to failure in the real world where the victim is either uninformed or unable to take the necessary three strokes immediately prior to loss of consciousness.
In many if not most test situations the tester can compensate for minimal to marked deficiencies in the airway protective capacity of the tested PFD, without such contrived testing there would be little if any product passed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Previous applications by this inventor discussed the role of eccentric ballast and buoyancy. However, it is also important to reliably control the PFD user's head. As the PFD tester improves their ability to more thoroughly feigns unconsciousness, as the PFD begins to roll the tester from face down into the first 90 degree segment of axial rotation, the completely relaxed neck allows the head which has fallen forward under its own weight to roll long the victim's chest toward the side. At 90 degrees, with the arms, legs and head to one side and a large portion of the PFD and opposite pulmonary field high out of the water the victim's enters a second stable surface position the side high airway submerged position. Currently with the slightest residual tension in the testers neck, the PFD will appear to roll the tester through the side high position and over onto their back with their nose and mouth free and clear. Unfortunately the truly unconscious victim is incapable of such product assistance and in its absence ends up floating on their side with their airway submerged.
The current invention serves to align and then secure the head and neck in line with the bodies/PFDs axis of rotation. In this position the ballast of the head is divided evenly about the axis of rotation negating its ability to oppose the PFD's forces being applied in the generation of rotational torque.
Once the range of motion of the victim's head is controlled, the PFD with integrated space occupying cephalic restraint means of the present invention, is able to reliably and consistently effect Active Self Rescue. Active Self Rescue is defined as; when the PFD alone, without any assistance from the victim, is able to roll the unconscious victim's face free of the water, within the 5 seconds required by international standards.
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Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/935,351, filed Aug. 22, 2001, entitled: Garment Integrated Multi-Chambered Personal Flotation Device or Life Jacket. Applicant: William L. Courtney.
Polley, P.A. Daniel S.
Wright Andrew
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