Buoys – rafts – and aquatic devices – Water rescue or life protecting apparatus – Personal flotation device
Patent
1996-01-26
1999-10-19
Sotelo, Jesus D.
Buoys, rafts, and aquatic devices
Water rescue or life protecting apparatus
Personal flotation device
428137, B63C 908
Patent
active
059678704
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention concerns a semi-finished composite material for the manufacture of buoyancy products and related products, that is an article, advantageously pre-made of layers of lightweight, waterproof material joined together to make up a garment which ensures the buoyancy in water of the person wearing it.
The prior art involves life jackets, generally sleeveless, made from pads of expanded polystyrene, or other lightweight material, inserted in a lining attached to the body of the jacket: life jackets of this kind are generally known from "British Plastics" August 1966, pages 448-451 (Plastics foams for increased buoyancy); the prior art involves also jackets in inflatable plastic material.
The life jacket is seen as a piece of equipment to be put on only in the case of imminent danger, it being stiff, as in the case of the padded jacket, constrictive and unhealthy, as in the case of the inflatable jacket, since it impedes transpiration and confines the body of the person; the garment, therefore, is not one that may be used for purposes other than that of keeping afloat the person in the moment of need, that is, as an item of clothing or accessory: its life-saving function, furthermore, depends entirely on its availability in the case of danger, a somewhat remote availability in every day life in places made dangerous by the presence of stretches of water.
Such a jacket is bulky, uncomfortable to wear, in practice stiffened by the pads of material suitable for ensuring buoyancy of the persons, and unaesthetic; above all they are costly and constitute a specific investment of money; this being sufficient for them not to be considered for purchase by the general public, with the consequent serious safety risk for persons who fall in the water, particularly for those who are inexpert or hampered.
DE-U-9 207 143 discloses buoyancy clothes made up with semi-finished composite material comprising a plurality of layers of waterproof material with a specific gravity substantially less than that of water, said plurality of layers being elastic, flexible and being insertable between a lining and a cover sheet, said layers being associated to each other by means of fastening means, specifically disclosed as stitches. However, such clothes only allow a buoyancy effect by relying on air cells formed into the thickness of each layer due to the expanded structure of the substance by which each layer is made.
Such prior art may be subject to considerable improvements with a view to eliminating the drawbacks outlined above.
From the foregoing emerges the need to resolve the technical problem of finding a semi-finished composite material, suitable for the manufacture of buoyancy clothes and/or buoyancy items in general, capable of increased buoyancy properties.
A particular aspect of the technical problem consists in finding a life jacket which is, instead, a soft garment, or at least, elastic or flexible enough to be worn normally, particularly in places in which people, particularly if they are inexpert swimmers, or, at the time, incapable of swimming, are frequently exposed to the danger of drowning; such as, for example, at the seaside, in lakes, in rivers, in canals and also near swimming pools or waterways in general; the garment should be, for example, useful for trippers, cruise passengers, fishermen in boats or in water and also for sailors; it should also be useful while bathing children, handicapped people and people in general, above all if they are inexpert swimmers.
The invention resolves the said technical problem by adopting an article, in particular a garment, made from a semi-finished composite, in rolls or also in pieces, comprising the incorporation of a waterproof material with a specific gravity substantially less than that of water, said plurality of layers being elastic, flexible and being insertable between a lining and a cover sheet, said layers being associated to each other by means of fastening means, characterised in that, said fastening means consist of a plurality of quiltings spaced from
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Bertoncelli Milena
Vignudelli Adriano
Sotelo Jesus D.
Tex Proget S.R.L.
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