Buoys – rafts – and aquatic devices – Water rescue or life protecting apparatus – Personal flotation device
Patent
1986-08-20
1987-09-08
Nase, Jeffrey V.
Buoys, rafts, and aquatic devices
Water rescue or life protecting apparatus
Personal flotation device
441108, 441113, 441122, A63B 3100
Patent
active
046921257
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a swimming and bathing aid especially for young children.
Swimming and bathing aids are known in various embodiments. All swimming and bathing aids are based on the principal of increasing the buoyancy of the human body by connecting it with lift augmenting elements. The known swimming and bathing aids differ therefore in material, in shape and in the size of the lift augmenting elements, in their arrangement on the human body and in the way they are connected to the human body.
A swimming ring is a toroidal inflated ring which is worn round the chest under the armpits. The bather, normally a non swimmer, hangs thereby with his upper arms on the ring which floats on the surface of the water and the swimmer is therefore greatly restricted in his movements. Here exists the danger that especially children slide out of the ring, when moving or they may overturn headfirst. In general swimming rings have only one inflatable chamber so that by a contact with pointed or sharp objects the air may escape and there is a danger that the bather will go down. A swimming ring is therefore a very insecure swimming and bathing aid. Especially for young children who are not yet able to swim such a device is absolutely unsuited, for example in a swimming pool when the children are not taken care of intensively.
Further popular swimming aids are the upper arm floating rings. These are inflatable angular and pillow-shaped floating elements through which the upper arms are inserted. Necessary additional buoyancy forces for swimming act therefore on the upper arms and handicap thereby the freedom of movement of the arms because of the large volume of the floating elements. The floating elements are located near the upper end of the human body so that when slightly moving there is the possibility that the face may dip into the water. Especially for young children this is unwanted as thereby fear and dislike of water are caused. Most upper arm floating rings contain also only one inflatable chamber so that also here exists the danger that the air may escape after contact with sharp and pointed objects, for example after contact with the edge of the swimming pool. Altogether, upper arm floating rings are useful aids for swimming instruction when the motion in the water is supported by swimming movements. However, for young children the position in the water with upper arm floating rings is too unstable and there is a danger that the surface of the upper arm floating rings may be damaged or that they are improperly handled so that the air may escape.
A further aid which is often used in swimming instruction is the swimming belt. It usually consists of pieces of cork which are strung on a rope and which are put round the chest. The pieces of cork are usually long and extend from the chest to the abdomen so that only a less stable swimming position is reached. The bearer of a swimming belt is forced into a horizontal swimming position, which is desired in a swimming lesson and which position should then be balanced and stabilized. For young children this swimming aid is not proper because for example there is no device to stabilize a side movement which is difficult to control and to balance.
A swimming and bathing aid in a wider sense is a life jacket which is normally designated as an emergency device. Life jackets consist of a sort of jacket with inflatable chambers. Life jackets are not designed as swimming and bathing aids because they restrict very much the freedom of movement by their size.
There is another known method (DE-OS No. 27 49 628) of applying floating elements to proper places at the body of physically disabled persons by belted adhesive strips to create a stable swimming position. This swimming aid is not proper for non-swimmers and especially for children because the lift augmenting elements may be slipped off unwillingly so that the additional necessary buoyancy is missing.
A further known swimming aid (DE-OS No. 28 37 497) consists of a bathing suit with emergency floating elements which
REFERENCES:
patent: 1734619 (1929-11-01), Gates
Brahan Thomas J.
Nase Jeffrey V.
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