US20060288466A1

US20060288466A1 - Emergency preparedness vest

Info

Publication number: US20060288466A1
Application number: US11/165,759
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank Bucheit
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-06-23
Filing date: 2005-06-23
Publication date: 2006-12-28

Abstract

An apparatus and method for providing emergency food and water and medical supplies in a body worn garment. The garment has a plurality of pockets labeled with their contents in the form of food and water. Other pockets are labeled with the type of injury the contents are intended to treat thereby eliminating the need to search or look into the pockets to find the supplies appropriate to the injury. The garment has a top vest portion worn around the torso and a separable bottom belt portion which can be worn independently as a belt and complete first aid kit by a second person.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention herein disclosed relates generally to emergency response equipment. More specifically, the invention herein described and disclosed relates to a custom configurable vest having a plurality of different pocket enclosures for storage of first aid and survival supplies adapted for emergencies which might occur in specific geographic locations. Further the device includes survival supplies, and first aid supplies in a removably engageable belt that can be given to another person to aid the injured.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Disasters occur in venues and locales around the earth on a regular basis. Natural disasters include such devastating events as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods and tornados. Man-made disasters can be equally devastating and can be caused accidentally by explosions and industrial accidents as well as intentionally by terrorists such as the recent attacks in New York City.
No matter how such disasters are caused, the result is inevitably the same in that many people, lucky enough to survive, are injured. Such injuries run the gauntlet from minor to life threatening with both types of patient in need of first aid. Further, in the period subsequent to the occurrence of a disaster, frequently people are left to their own devices to survive for the first few hours or days. Survival of the injured requires immediate and ongoing medical treatment. Survival of the healthy requires a supply of food and water until emergency relief arrives from the government and from aid agencies.
Additionally, the type of disaster a person might encounter can be very geographically distinct. For instances people in the Midwest area of the United States frequently encounter tornados. However people living on the West Coast of the United States rarely encounter tornados but frequently are subjected to brush fires and floods. More recently, the extreme danger post to coastal dwellers has been exhibited by the massive destructive power of tsunamis.
As a consequence of this variable risk of harm to people determined by their locale, there can be a variable requirement for the first aid supplies needed in specific geographic regions. People suffering injuries from a tornado in the Midwest may require very different treatment for injuries from those suffering burns or smoke inhalation in a West Coast brush fire. As such, the first aid supplies for differing regions of the world may be specialized to the potential harm from the local risk of disaster or man-made hazards.
In addition to the first aid supplies that must be available to people after a disaster or accident, food and water for those first few hours or days, is a requirement to keep the survivors healthy and alive. While tastes may vary in geographic locations for food, the nutritional needs of survivors do not and a standardized food supply can be made available.
Such a food and first aid supply should be available on a moment's notice since there is generally scant warning of the occurrence of disasters such as earthquakes and explosions and the like. Food and first aid supplies should also be easily carried by the survivors once a disaster or accident has occurred.
Still further, because some survivors may lack first aid training but require substance, the ability to easily enable other survivors to render first aid with an available and organized supply of easily carried first aid supplies is desirable.
In recent times, various devices have attempted to address this need for food and first aid supplies that are easily transported by survivors after a disaster.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,075 (Ingrisano) teaches an emergency medical services system for delivering primary care and emergency treatment. However, the vest of Ingrisano is designed solely for use by paramedics and emergency service personnel. It lacks sufficient food and water for the recommended three days subsequent to the disaster. Further, it lacks any ability to disburse the supplies to other emergency personnel for their use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,782 (McNamara) features a vest for carrying medical supplies. However, McNamara's is designed for military use and has no food or other survival items. Further, McNamara lacks any ability to transfer first aid supplies to another person or to transfer specific first aid supplies to a third party.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,412 (Perry) provides a vest type device which includes pockets to hold provisions for the wearer during an emergency situation. However, the vest of Perry is not designed to carry water and provides no first aid components in an organized fashion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,140 (Davis) teaches a garment that is intended for use by law enforcement. The Davis device while bullet resistant, has no food or water for the recommended three days subsequent to a disaster. Neither does it provide any organized first aid supplies.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,227 (Brown) discloses a vest adapted for wearing by emergency medical technicians. Its main purpose is to transfer stretcher weight to the body of the wearer. Consequently while it is designed for emergency personnel, it lacks any organized or transferable first aid supplies or sustenance supplies.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,579 (Marcon) teaches a personal survival vest designed to keep the wearer warm in cold environment. While it has a plurality of pockets, it lacks a three-day food and water supply and also an organized first aid supply that may be transferred to another person in an emergency.
As such there exists a pressing need for a survival garment that provides storage for a food and water supply for a person surviving a disaster. Such a device should be easily configurable to the geographic location of the potential survivor. Such a device should also contain a first aid supply that is organized by potential injury, and the components of which are easily transferred to one or more other persons for their use in providing first aid.
With respect to the above description, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components or steps set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The various apparatus and methods of the invention are capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways which will be obvious to those skilled in the art once they review this disclosure. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other devices, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present disclosed device. It is important, therefore, that the objects and claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction and methodology insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further objectives of this invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification, wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The device herein described and disclosed, features a user wearable vest with a plurality of individual storage compartments. The vest can be sized to fit children through large adults or can be manufactured in a one size fits all embodiment. It is easily stored in the home, office, car, or boat for immediate retrieval when needed.
The vest is equipped with a plurality of pockets which may be stocked with emergency supplies of a general nature or very specific to the locale where the wearer lives and potential disasters that are more likely to occur in that venue. Preferably the pockets have a flap that is highly reflective and bright to make the vest highly visible to rescue personnel should the wearer be trapped or lost. For easy use by the wearer or others, the flaps on the pockets should also clearly identify the contents of the individual pockets.
Also in a preferred embodiment of the vest is a plurality of pockets about the lower periphery of the vest which contain first aid supplies. It is especially desirable that this plurality of pockets is engaged with a belt that engages the lower periphery of the vest. This allows the first aid supplies, in appropriately labeled pockets on the belt, to be removed as a separate component of the vest, and given to another person who might be better able to render first aid to third parties.
Additionally desirable in the preferred embodiment of the device is making the individual pockets engaged to the belt section specifically packed with supplies appropriate to specific injuries to provide better organization for care givers. Such generally recognized specific first aid care can include bleeding care, burn care, cut and scrape care, eye injury care, bone fracture care, and muscle injury care and the individual supplies to treat those specific types of injury. The pockets containing the supplies specific to the injury type would be best labeled with the injury type so responders know which pocket to retrieve which supplies for which injuries. These individually organized pockets are, in a preferred mode of the device, separable from the belt so that they can be given to another person to treat injuries specific to the contents of the individual removable pocket. When labeled with the type of injury the pocket contents is intended to treat, the individual pockets can be removed and given to alternate responders to increase the ability of personnel to treat the injured. This allows for maximum utility of the device since the first aid supplies are separable from the food and water supplies in the vest, and since the first aid supplies are separable from the belt for use by a plurality of rescuers. Additionally, by making the individual pockets separable from the belt, the first aid supplies can be organized in each attachable pocket for potential injuries in a geographic location and engaged to the belt and the vest to make the vests more specific to the potential threat in a given locale.
The food, water and survival supplies are stored in clearly labeled pockets of the upper portion of the vest. In the case of food and water, it is prepackaged and sealed for long term storage so that the vest, once stocked, is ready to be used for a long time, and a supply of the vests may be stored and quickly shipped to a disaster area. Other recommended contents of the upper portion pockets in the vest would be a blanket, a flashlight, a radio, a whistle, a multipurpose tool, a knife or shears, and other survival gear specific to the locale and potential catastrophe.
Additionally desirable as an optional component would be the provision of a means for identification of the specific individual to whom the vest is assigned. This identification means will give rescue personnel the ability to identify the person found if they are unable to do so. This identification means might be a printed identification card deployed in one of the pockets, or serial number or bar code, or other means could be provided that is easily read by the responding personnel and compared to data stored at a remote location as to the identification of the wearer to which the vest was provided. Not only could this identification means help identify the wearer, their medical history might also be stored and associated with the serial number or bar code or other identification means so that medical personnel might access it during treatment.
An object of this invention is to provide an article of clothing in the form of a vest that contains food, water, and first aid supplies in an easily stored device ready for use on a moment's notice.
Another object of this invention is to provide such an emergency vest where the plurality of pockets containing sustenance is separable from the plurality of pockets containing first aid supplies so that the first aid supplies may be passed to another person for use in an organized, easy to carry, fashion.
An additional object of this invention is the provision of such a separable first aid supply that may be worn by a second person with pockets containing first aid supplies specific to different types of injuries.
A still further object of this invention is the provision of such a separable first aid section of the vest that also has the injury specific supplies in removably engageable pockets that may be yet given to a plurality of different persons for use.
Yet another object of this invention is the provision of such an emergency garment that may be inventoried with food and first aid supplies that are specific to the potential catastrophes in a geographic area.
Another object of this invention is the provision of such an emergency garment that is highly visible to responders to the emergency to make it easier to find the wearer.
These together with other objects and advantages which become subsequently apparent reside in the details of the construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSOCIATED DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a the front of the emergency vest showing the plurality of pockets for both food and survival gear and for first aid supplies.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rear of the vest showing the plurality of pockets for storage of food and survival gear on the vest portion and individual pockets for first aid supplies on the detached belt portion.
FIG. 3 depicts the separable first aid supply portion of the vest showing the belt engageable to the bottom edge of the vest and the optional removable pockets for first aid supplies on the belt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE DISCLOSED DEVICE

Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-3 disclose the elements of the various preferred embodiments of the disclosed device 10 for storage of food, emergency supplies, and first aid supplies for use subsequent to a regional catastrophe.
The device 10 is formed as an article of clothing depicted in the form of a vest which is easily wearable by an adult or child and distributes the weight of the stored supplies about their torso. The vest is constructed of two components in the form of an upper vest portion 11 and an engageable belt portion 12 which attaches at its upper edge, to the lower edge 14 of the upper vest portion 11. As shown, the belt 16 on the upper edge of the belt portion 12 is engaged to the lower edge 14 of the vest portion 11 of the device 10 using a fastening removable means for engagement such as hook and loop fabric 18 on both respective edges.
Of course those skilled in the art will realize that other means of removable attachment of the belt portion 12 to the upper vest portion 11 can be employed and such is anticipated. The overriding factor is to allow the belt portion 12 to be separable from the vest portion 11 and thereby be given to another person to wear and use in a response situation. Such a separable configuration doubles the utility of the device 10 since one emergency responder with supplies, can be multiplied to a plurality of responders with supplies by separating the belt portion 12 and letting the second responder wear it for use in rendering emergency care. Since the pockets are labeled for contents as to treatment of a type of injury, inspection of the inventoried contents is not required. A means for engagement of the two distal ends of the belt portion 12 is provided in the form of a two component buckle 21 however other means for engagement such as hook and loop fabric or buttons or the like could be employed so long as they allow the belt portion 12 to be secured around an individual, separate from the upper vest portion 11, when the belt portion 12 is separated, and such are anticipated.
As noted above, both the upper vest portion 11 and the belt portion 12 are equipped with a plurality of individual pockets 20 which are preferably pre-stocked with emergency supplies of a specific nature for use in potential emergencies that might be specific to the locale where the wearer lives and to the treatment supplies the contents of the stocked pockets 20 will provide. In a preferred mode, the pockets 20 have an opening covered by a flap 22 that is highly reflective and bright in color which imparts a high visibility of the wearer to rescue personnel should the wearer be trapped or lost. This reflective indicia also allows for easy identification of the contents of the pockets 20 when treating injuries, especially if the pockets themselves are separated from either the vest portion 11 or the belt portion 12 and given to additional emergency responders as supplies to treat the injured.
As noted, in a preferred embodiment, the flaps 22 on the pockets 20 have indicia 24 printed on them identifying the purpose of the contents of the individual pocket 20. Some pockets will have food and water in them and will be labeled accordingly allowing quick and easy access to sustenance when needed by the wearer, or by a third party who may need to access the pocket contents in the event that the wearer is incapacitated. It is especially desirable to place sufficient inventory of food and water in these pockets 20 to last the wearer at least 3 days subsequent to a disaster. The water would be in sealed containers and the food packaged for very long term storage such as freeze dried type food or Military Ready to Eat (MRE's) packaged food. This will allow for long term storage of the vests, fully stocked with food, water, and medical supplies, on-site for the potential users.
Also in a preferred embodiment of the device, the plurality of pockets 20 located about the removable belt portion 12, would best be outfitted with first aid supplies. By placing such medical supplies in the removable belt portion 12 the wearer can give another responder the ability to take the first aid supplies in the removable belt portion 12 and respond to other victims in a catastrophe. If the wearer is not an emergency responder, the pockets of the vest portion 11 would probably only contain food and water and the belt portion, the first aid supplies. This would allow a non trained wearer to give the emergency supplies to an emergency responder but still keep their own supply of food and water in their vest.
As noted, in manufacturing the device for storage and use in emergencies in differing geographic locations, it would be advantageous to stock the individual pockets 20 engaged to the belt section 12 with first aid and medical supplies to treat injuries most likely to occur in disasters likely to happen in the specific geographic location. Tornado prone areas would have more supplies for cuts and fractures whereas earthquake prone areas might have a differing type of supplies provided based on the injuries most likely to happen in an earthquake. Companies can thus order pre-stocked vests for disbursement to their employees during an emergency and have them stocked with food and water for everyone in some pockets 20, and medical supplies in other pockets 20 inventoried for the most likely injuries to occur in disasters in their geographic locale.
Still further, the indicia 24 identifying the purpose of the contents of the pockets 20 will provide inexperienced users and professional responders with kits of supplies that are organized to treat specific types of injuries. The pockets containing the supplies specific to the injury type would be labeled with the indicia 24 for the injury type so responders know which pocket to retrieve which supplies for which injuries. Optionally but especially useful in a preferred mode of the device, would be to render the individually organized, and indicia labeled pockets 20, separable from the belt portion 12 as shown in FIG. 3 and/or from the vest portion shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. This separation of pockets 20 with their respective contents, would allow for individual first aid kits with supplies to treat specific injuries to be taken off the belt portion 12 and given to one or a plurality of other responders to treat the injured and to easily know, without opening the pocket 20, which supplies are inside to treat which type of injury. In this fashion, the pockets 20 with the specific injury first aid supplies can be given to another person to treat injuries specific to the contents of the individual removable pocket. This separability of both the belt portion 12 and the pockets 20 especially from the belt portion 12 and optionally the vest portion 11, affords maximum utility of the device 10 since the first aid supplies are separable from the food and water supplies in the vest, and since the first aid supplies are separable in pocketed kits from the belt for use by a plurality of rescuers.
In addition to food and water in the pockets 20 on the upper vest portion 11, other survival gear can be inventoried such as a blanket, a flashlight, a radio, a whistle, a multipurpose tool, a knife or shears, and other survival gear specific to the locale and potential catastrophe.
Additional utility is provided to the device 10 by the optional inclusion of a means for identification of the specific individual to whom the vest is assigned. This allows easy identification by rescue or other personnel. This identification means might be a printed identification card 26 in a pocket 20 or behind a transparent pocket wall as shown in FIG. 1. Or, a bar code 28 may provide the means for wearer identification and if the vest were purchased from a central authority or company, the bar code 28 or identification card 26 in addition to providing personal identification, can cross reference to a computer database with the wearers medical history which can be communicated to a responder in an emergency if the wearer is not capable of doing so.
Although the invention has been described with respect to particular embodiments thereof, it should be realized that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. While the invention as shown in the drawings and described in detail herein discloses arrangements of elements of particular construction and configuration for illustrating preferred embodiments of structure and method of operation of the present invention, it is to be understood, however, that elements of different construction and configuration and other arrangements thereof, other than those illustrated and described, may be employed in accordance with the spirit of this invention. Any and all such changes, alterations and modifications, as would occur to those skilled in the art, are considered to be within the scope of this invention as broadly defined in the appended claims.
Further, the purpose of the attached abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.

Claims

1. A survival supply garment for a person comprising:

a vest portion having neck and arm openings and adapted for wearing about the torso by a human;

said vest portion having an outside surface and a bottom edge;

a belt portion, said belt portion having an exterior surface extending between two distal ends and having a top edge;

means for removable engagement of said distal ends to each other;

means for removable engagement of said top edge of said belt to said bottom edge of said vest portion;

a plurality of vest pockets, said plurality of vest pockets having a sealable aperture providing access to an interior cavity;

said interior cavity of said vest pockets adapted for holding a supply of food and water for said wearer;

means for engagement of said vest pockets said outside surface of said vest portion;

a plurality of belt pockets;

means for engagement of said belt pockets to said exterior surface of said belt portion; and

said belt pockets having a sealable opening providing access to an inside cavity, said inside cavity being inventoried with first aid supplies, whereby said belt is separable from said vest as a wearable first aid kit for a second person while concurrently leaving said person wearing said remaining vest portion, with a supply of food and water.

2. The survival supply garment of claim 1 additionally comprising:

said belt pockets being removably engageable with said exterior surface whereby said individual belt pockets and their contents may be removed and thereby each become a separable first aid kit which may be given to one or a plurality of other users.

3. The survival supply garment of claim 1 wherein each of said belt pockets are inventoried with first aid supplies for injuries likely to occur in emergencies common to the geographic area in which the survival supply garment is intended for use.

4. The survival supply garment of claim 2 wherein each of said belt pockets are inventoried with first aid supplies for injuries likely to occur in emergencies common to the geographic area in which the survival supply garment is intended for use.

5. The survival supply garment of claim 1 additionally comprising:

at least one of said belt pockets being labeled with indicia;

said indicia indicating the specific injury type the contents of said respective belt pocket is intended to treat, whereby said contents may be accessed for treating said specific injury type without the need to look at said contents prior to usage to ascertain suitability to the intended injury treatment.

6. The survival supply garment of claim 2 additionally comprising:

indicia on at least one of said belt pockets, said indicia indicating the specific injury type the contents of said respective belt pocket is intended to treat; and

whereby said belt pocket may become said separable first aid kits when separated from said belt portion and given to other users to treat said specific injury type indicated, without looking at said contents of said respective belt pocket.

7. The survival supply garment of claim 3 additionally comprising:

at least one of said belt pockets being labeled with indicia;

8. The survival supply garment of claim 4 additionally comprising:

9. The survival supply garment of claim 1 additionally comprising:

said vest pockets having an inventory of food and water stored therein sufficient for three days survival by said person wearing said survival supply garment.

10. The survival supply garment of claim 2 additionally comprising:

11. The survival supply garment of claim 3 additionally comprising:

12. The survival supply garment of claim 4 additionally comprising:

13. The survival supply garment of claim 7 additionally comprising:

14. The survival supply garment of claim 8 additionally comprising:

15. The survival supply garment of claim 1 additionally comprising:

indicia on said outside surface, said indicia identifying the person issued said survival supply garment whereby said person may be identified if incapacitated.

16. The survival supply garment of claim 2 additionally comprising:

17. The survival supply garment of claim 11 additionally comprising:

18. The survival supply garment of claim 12 additionally comprising:

19. The survival supply garment of claim 13 additionally comprising:

20. A method of providing survival supplies adapted for potential disasters likely to occur in differing geographic locations, comprising the steps of:

providing a vest with vest pockets inventoried with three days food and water;

providing a belt having belt pockets thereon with said belt removably engageable with said vest;

stocking said belt pockets with first aid supplies adapted for use in injuries most likely to occur in the geographic area of intended use of the survival supplies; and

providing the ability for said belt to be separated from said vest and used by a second person, as a first aid kit independent of said vest.