Swimwear with buoyant neck support and body panels

Details Swimwear with buoyant neck support and body panels Swimwear with buoyant neck support and body panels

1999-10-11

2001-07-17

Calvert, John J. (Department: 3741)

Apparel

Body garments

C002S067000, C441S115000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06260199

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
THIS INVENTION relates to swimwear and is more specifically concerned with swimwear which serves three functions, namely, enhances buoyancy of a swimmer; is shaped to offer minimum obstruction to movements which the swimmer must learn in order to swim correctly; and, protects at least the central body of the swimmer from direct exposure to harmful solar radiation.
STATE OF THE ART
Swimming costumes have been recently developed which cover at least the entirety of a swimmer's central body so that only the swimmer's head, arms and legs are directly exposed to harmful solar radiation. The material of the costume is chosen to provide at least some resistance to the penetration of harmful ultra-violet light. The arms and legs of the costume usually cover the upper portions of the swimmer's arms and legs. The costume itself has a neutral buoyancy and fits snugly on the swimmer. It is almost always held in place by a zip fastener extending from the swimmer's neck down to the lower back.
Various forms of flotation devices have also been developed to maintain a swimmer's head above water and to provide positive buoyancy. These devices may take the form of strings of buoyant beads, buoyant waist-coats, or flotation pads or blocks attached to the outside of a garment worn by a swimmer. Although such devices prevent the wearer from sinking in the water, they do not leave the wearer's arms and legs and head free to assume the positions and carry out the motions which are necessary in order to learn to swim.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a garment which will provide the wearer with positive buoyancy and some degree of protection from solar radiation, and which will allow the wearer to carry out arm, leg and head movements necessary for swimming while allowing the wearer to assume the horizontal position in the water of a swimmer.
THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention a swimwear garment designed to cover a child's body has arm, neck and leg openings to receive the child's arms, neck and legs respectively, a flexible buoyant neck support which locates beneath the child's chin and maintains it above water and, a buoyant flexible body panel or panels incorporated into the inside of the garment and surrounding the child's chest; the buoyancy of the panel or panels and neck support being so selected that the child can move its arms and legs with a swimming action while the child's body can be maintained in a non-vertical position and its chin is always held above the water by the buoyant neck support beneath it.
PREFERRED FEATURES OF THE INVENTION
The panels may be permanently secured by stitching them into pockets into the inside of the garment. The pockets may be permanently closed or designed with a closable opening to enable the panel or panels to be slid into their respective pockets and then retained in position.
The panels are so shaped that they do not materially interrupt the smooth external outline of the garment on the body of the wearer.
Preferably, the panels are made from soft, non-interlinked closed cellular foam and each panel may be creased to provide it with a hinge line about which portions of the panel can bend with respect to one another. The crease lines are positioned to coincide with those regions of the body about which other regions of the body move. The stiffness of the panels does not then impede the wearer from performing arm movements associated with swimming.
Suitably the panels cover the upper portions only of the back and front of the wearer and do not extend down beyond the wearer's waist.
The swimwear is preferably made from material which provides a degree of protection against ultra violet light. One such material is Nylon Elastane (trade mark).
In the preferred arrangement a soft neck roll of flexible foamed plastics material is provided to encircle the swimmer's neck and which is positioned at the upper end of a zip fastened extending down the back of the garment to the position of the wearer's waist.
INTRODUCTION TO THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:


REFERENCES:
patent: 2893020 (1959-07-01), Miller
patent: 3181183 (1965-05-01), Allen
patent: 4871338 (1989-10-01), Hoffman
patent: 5184968 (1993-02-01), Michalochick et al.
patent: 5459874 (1995-10-01), Meredith
patent: 5588892 (1996-12-01), McMahon
patent: 5775967 (1998-07-01), Lacoursiere et al.
patent: 5823838 (1998-10-01), Darcy et al.

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