WO1997011877A2

WO1997011877A2 - Personal floatation devices

Info

Publication number: WO1997011877A2
Application number: PCT/NZ1996/000104
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter John Hume; Michael David O'donnell; John Joseph Woollett
Original assignee: Hutchwilco Limited
Priority date: 1995-09-29
Filing date: 1996-09-27
Publication date: 1997-04-03
Also published as: WO1997011877A3; AU7100796A; NZ280127A

Abstract

A personal floatation device is formed from a plurality of three-dimensionally shaped buoyancy panels. The panels are shaped to conform ergonomically to body contours of the wearer. The personal floatation device is preferably formed as a life vest in use secured about the torso of a wearer. The buoyancy panels maintain the three-dimensional contours without association with the wearer. The buoyancy panels are manufactured by moulding to the desired three-dimensional shape and preferably have an outer fabric skin and an inner closed cell foam care moulded by heat and pressure so that the formed buoyancy panel maintain its three-dimensional form.

Description

PERSONAL FLOATATION DEVICES

This invention relates to personal floatation devices and methods of manufacturing said personal floatation devices.

BACKGROUND

A wide variety of floatation devices are available, ranging from lifejackets that will support an unconscious person face up in the water to simple blocks of foam and straps which ensures a wearer is afforded sufficient personal floatation to facilitate survival while in the water. Devices in the past have largely been designed from flat panels or bulky pads that are attached to the body by external straps with sufficient flexibility in the pads or panels to allow them to fit the body of a wearer. Tliese lifejackets have not been ergonomically designed for body comfort. Also, in many instances in action water sports, it is desirable to have impact protection beyond that presently available with conventionally designed personal floatation devices.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a personal floatation device and/or methods of manufacturing personal floatation devices which are designed to provide ergonomic benefits and improved impact protection for the wearer. Floatation devices according to the present invention may also be produced to provide the user with a greater choice in the style of the personal floatation device.

THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention consists in a personal floatation device comprising a number of three-dimensional shaped buoyancy panels to confoπn ergonomically to body contours of the wearer, and securing means operable in use to secure the buoyancy panels to the matching body portion of the wearer.

The buoyancy panels desirably have an outer skin of abrasion resistant fabric and an inner section of thermoformable closed cell foam located within the outer skin to provide buoyancy, impact protection, and shape with the outer skin and inner section shaped by heat and pressure to the desired three-dimensional body contours and with tlie outer skin and inner section formed together to maintain the three-dimensional body contours.

Preferably the personal floatation device has a back buoyancy panel shaped to fit the back ofthe body torso and two symmetrical side buoyancy panels shaped to fit the respective halves of the front of the body torso, with the back panel flexibly secured to the side panels to form a life vest, and the abutting edges ofthe side panels joined.

The invention further consists in a method of producing a personal floatation device, said method comprising the steps of forming a number of three-dimensional shaped buoyancy panels with shapes to conform ergonomically to body contours of the wearer and assembling the formed body buoyancy panels into a form that can be securely engaged in use about the body of a wearer with the three-dimensional shaped buoyancy panels matching the body portion of the wearer in use.

The invention also consists in a method of manufacturing a buoyancy panel comprising the steps of forming an outer skin of abrasive resistant fabric and an inner section of thermoformable closed cell foam located within the outer skin to provide buoyancy, impact protection, and shape, the outer skin and inner section being shaped by heat and pressure to the desired three-dimensional body contour and with the process forming the skin and inner section together so that the buoyancy panel maintains the three-dimensional form.

Preferably in the method the outer skin of abrasive resistant fabric has adhered to the inner surface a thin layer of closed cell thermoformable foam.

DRAWING DESCRIPTION

One preferred form of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a personal floatation device according to the present invention formed as a life vest with three buoyancy panels;

Figure 2 is a rear view of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a top view of the life vest;

Figure 4 is a bottom view of the life vest; Figure 5 is a view showing the vest fitted to a user; and

Figure 6 is a cross section through a typical buoyancy panel used in a personal floatation device according to the present invention.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The personal floatation device as illustrated in the prefened foim of the invention is a life vest, but it will be understood that the present invention could also be used for other forms of personal floatation device. The important feature of the present invention is that the buoyancy panels used in the personal floatation device are moulded in a three-dimensional configuration to conform with the body contours of the wearer where the buoyancy panel engages on the wearer in use. The present invention has the advantage of allowing a more ergonomically designed personal floatation device to be produced and also to provide a construction which is better able to provide impact protection for the wearer. As a subsidiary feature, the design also enables styling and design features to be incoφorated in the personal floatation device.

To retain the body contour shape, the personal floatation device in the form of a life vest according to the present invention has a rigidity which means it retains essentially the body torso configuration and does not collapse when not on the wearer. It is highly desirable in a personal floatation device to provide durability and a wear resistant suiface, and in the preferred example disclosed, these characteristics will be built into the product.

However, if a product of lower standard was acceptable, these features could be omitted. To produce the personal floatation device, various manufacturing techniques may be adopted. A particular manufacturing technique and modifications thereof, will also be described.

Thus, while the present invention can be produced in a variety of forms of personal floatation devices, a life vest as illustrated is the most suitable to take advantage of all of the features ofthe present invention and has been illustrated as the prefened form of the invention.

The life vest 1 has a back buoyancy panel 2 and two symmetrical side buoyancy panels 3 and 4. Each of the buoyancy panels 2, 3 and 4 are formed according to the present invention so that they are three-dimensionally shaped to fit the body contours of the wearer with the back panel 2 shaped to the contours of the back of the torso of a user and the side panels 3 and 4 shaped to the front torso contours of a wearer.

The buoyancy panels 2, 3 and 4 are connected together with a shoulder cormection web 5 joining the top section of each of the side panels 3 and 4 and the top of the back panel 4. A body sleeve 6 is connected between the inner face of the central section 7 of the back panel 2 and the near sides 8 and 9 ofthe side buoyancy panels 3 and 4. The adjacent edges of the side panels 3 and 4 are joined together by a zip fastener 10, and the vest is completed by a waste belt 11 with a quick release buckle 12. The waste belt passes through the channel 13 formed in the back buoyancy panel 2 and two partial channels 14 and 15 preformed in the side panels 3 and 4. The buoyancy panels according to the present invention have been shaped not only to fit the contour of the body torso, but also to include features of styling and to introduce additional protection for the user. Styling corrugations 16 are formed in the back panel 2 and similar styling corrugations 17 are formed in the front panels 3 and 4. It is possible as will be further described herebelow to have decorative panels 18 on the outer surface of one or more of the buoyancy panel 2, 3 and 4.

Thus, it will be seen that the personal floatation device according to the present invention in whatever form is made up of buoyancy panels and in the preferred example above illustrated three connected buoyancy panels.

Each buoyancy panel in the preferred form has an outer skin of abrasion resistant material or fabric. A knitted polyester is a suitable abrasion resistant fabric but a range of other fabrics with similar properties could be used.

With reference to Figure 6, the outer skin 19 is made up of the abrasion resistant knitted polyester fabric 20 and preferably has attached to the inner surface a layer of closed cell thermoformable foam 21. The buoyancy panel also includes an inner section 22 of the thermoformable closed cell foam selectively positioned within the outer skin 19 to provide buoyancy impact protection and shape. It will be appreciated that there are a variety of ways in which the inner section can be formed to achieve these objectives. The inner section can be made up of a preshaped section of foam or it can be made up of layers of foam 23 and 24 selectively positioned so that, when moulded to the desired three- dimensional form, they will provide the shape, buoyancy, and impact protection desired in the completed buoyancy panel.

The manufacturing technique adopted for the production ofthe buoyancy panel is selected to produce the three-dimensional shape of the buoyancy panel. For example, the outer skin 19 can have located therein an inner section 22 of closed cell foam, and be moulded by pressure and heat to establish the completed three-dimensional panel.

The thermoformable closed cell foam selected is preferably either an ethylvinylacetate (EVA) or a polyethylene. The foams can range from those having a density rating of 20kg per cubic metre to a density of 120kg per cubic metre and the foams can be selected to give a varying degree of flexibility. Preferably the foam is an EVA foam with a density of approximately 30kg per cubic metre. A denser foam would ordinarily be used in the lumber region 7 and the denser foam could be used for example in a thin layer of foam and could be used on outer decorative panel 18 as will be specified here below. In these instances, there could be a density of 45kg per cubic metre.

The decorative feature is mainly for optional styling and involves a panel 18, preferably a thin colour panel, that can be adhered to part ofthe outer fabric surface of the buoyancy panels. This can most convemently be achieved by including the coloured panel or other styling feature selected for decorative trade dress purposes, ie embossed trade marking, in a mould before the outer skin is placed in the mould. Where a styling panel 18 is to be used, a suitable adhesive may be used on the contact surfaces between the decorative panel and the fabric.

In the typical section of buoyancy panel as provided in the present invention is shown in Figure 6. The various components that make up the buoyancy panel are assembled in a mould. The mould is closed and heat and pressure applied so that a unitary finished buoyancy panel of the desired shape is produced. The desired three-dimensional body contours are provided with the outer skin and inner section formed together to maintain the desired three-dimensional body contours. This buoyancy panel is then incoφorated in the life vest as previously described.

It will be understood however, that this is only one example of the manufacture of such a three-dimensional buoyancy panel and other manufacturing techniques may be applied to produce the three-dimensional buoyancy panel. For example, the buoyancy panel could be produced by Reaction Injection Moulding (RIM). The RIM technology could be applied to produce the buoyancy panel with or without the strengthening fabric skin as described with the preferred embodiment of the invention.

In a yet further manufacturing technique, the buoyancy panels could be initially shaped as a two-dimensional panel and then thermoformed into a three-dimensional fonn using a simple forming mould.

The personal floatation device as described in the preferred form of the present invention is a life vest suitable for active water sports. The prefened embodiment allows additional protection to the body ofthe wearer and this additional protection can be further enhanced by incoφorating reinforcing panels of material compatible with the foam and desirably to which the foam will adhere, for example, suitable rigid plastics in the buoyancy panels, but the impact resistance achieved with the fabric surfacing coupled with the buoyancy foam already establishes a significant impact protection for the user, thus making the personal floatation device in the preferred form particularly suitable for active water sports.

It is intended that the present invention could also be applied in other personal floatation devices by modification to fulfill the function of other personal floatation devices, for example to provide floatation for an unconscious person.

The present invention has further flexibility in that it is not necessary to provide the material or fabric on the outer layer of the foam. This is a desired feature to enhance the durability, strength, and impact resistance, and ensure that the life vest will withstand abrasive forces. However, it would be possible for the present invention to be applied where the buoyancy panels were formed without material or fabric outers or with material or fabric only on one side of the buoyancy panel. It will therefore be apparent that the present invention provides the designer with a wide range of choices in manufacturing a personal floatation device ergonomically designed for body comfort.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A personal floatation device comprising a number of three-dimensional shaped buoyancy panels to conform ergonomically to body contours ofthe wearer, and securing means operable in use to secure the buoyancy panels to the matching body portion of the wearer.

2. A personal floatation device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the buoyancy panels aie formed of a bouyancy foam shaped by forming the foam to the desired three-dimensional body contours and to maintain the three-dimensional contours without association with the body of the wearer.

3. A personal floatation device as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the buoyancy panels have an outer skin of abrasion resistant fabric and an inner section of thermoformable closed cell foam located within the outer skin to provide buoyancy, impact protection, and shape with the outer skin and inner section shaped by heat and pressure to the desired three-dimensional body contours and with the outer skin and inner section formed together to maintain the three-dimensional body contours.

4. A personal floatation device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the outer skin comprises an abrasive resistant fabric having adhered to the inner face a thin layer of closed cell thermoformable foam.

5. A personal floatation device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising a back buoyancy panel shaped to fit the back of the body torso and two symmetrical side buoyancy panels shaped to fit the respective halves of the front of the body torso, with the back panel flexibly secured to the side panels to form a life vest, and the abutting edges of the side panels joined.

6. A personal floatation device as claimed in claim 5, wherein a back buoyancy panel is attached to the side buoyancy panels by a flexible shoulder connector web engaged over the shoulders ofthe user in use and a body sleeve attached between the near sides of the buoyancy panel and the inside centre ofthe back panel.

7. A personal floatation device as claimed in claim 5 and claim 6, wherein an adjustable waste belt is provided about the lower region ofthe buoyancy panels to further secure the buoyancy panels in position on the body of the wearer.

8. A method of producing a personal floatation device, said method comprising the steps of forming a number of three-dimensional shaped bouyancy panels with shapes to conform ergonomically to body contours ofthe wearer and assembling the formed body bouyancy panels into a form that can be securely engaged in use about the body of a wearer with the three-dimensional shaped bouyancy panels matching the body portion of the wearer in use.

9. A method of manufacturing a bouyancy panel comprising the steps of forming an outer skin of abrasive resistant fabric and an inner section of thermoformable closed cell foam located within the outer skin to provide buoyancy, impact protection, and shape, the outer skin and inner section being shaped by heat and pressure to the desired three- dimensional body contour and with the process forming the skin and inner section together so that the bouyancy panel maintains the three-dimensional form.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the outer skin of abrasive resistant fabric has adhered to the inner surface a thin layer of closed cell thermoformable foam.