Personal water safety device

Abstract

A personal water safety device comprising a strap and a housing secured to the strap. The housing releasably encloses a bladder and an inflation assembly. The bladder completely encloses the inflation assembly. The inflation assembly includes a gas container that provides gas to the bladder to inflate the bladder upon the selective deployment of gas from the gas container. The strap keeps the bladder secured to a user's appendage before and after inflation of the bladder.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 273,184, filed Nov. 18, 2008, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 003,637, filed Nov. 19, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Technical Field[0003]This application relates to a water safety device, and more particularly, to a compact selectively inflatable device for use during water activities.[0004]2. Background of Related Art[0005]Shore and near shore activities have always been popular, especially in warmer climates and during summer months. Persons of all ages and aquatic capabilities engage in a variety of pastimes including swimming, surfing, snorkeling, kayaking, boogie-boarding, life guarding, etc. In performing these activities, people tend to rely on life jackets, buoys, kickboards, etc. Many of these activities are more suita...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]After inflation, the inflatable bladder remains attached in a substantially stationary position adjacent to the upper arm of the user by the strap both before and after inflation. In one embodiment, the inflatable bladder is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape when inflated. A second strap may be attached to the inflatable bladder, whereby the second strap provides additional stability for the user when the inflatable bladder is inflated. At least one of the inflatable bladder, the strap, and the second strap can be formed of a high visibility material:

[0014]The housing includes a selectively removable cover. A shuttle is secured to the cover. The cover includes a pair of arms extending therefrom. The arms extend through apertures defined in the shuttle. The arms facilitate the movement of the shuttle in response to movement of the cover. One or more of the arms includes a rotation boss securable within a rotation boss aperture defined in a frame of the housing. The rotation boss facilitates the rotation of the shuttle in response to movement of the cover relative to the frame. The cover includes a finger aperture that enables a user to attain purchase of the cover. The cover includes a tab extending therefrom that is releaseably engagable with the frame of the housing to maintain the cover secured to the frame in order to contain the bladder and inflation assembly within the housing prior to deployment. The bladder is inflatable upon the selective removal of the cover from the housing.

[0015]The shuttle is movable to deploy gas from the gas container in response to movement of the cover. The shuttle is axially and rotatably movable. The shuttle moves axially to facilitate deployment of the gas from the gas container and moves rotationally to facilitate the inflation and release of the bladder from the housing. The shuttle includes a pair of guide tabs extending therefrom. The guide tabs are engagable with a pair of recesses defined in the housing. The guide tabs are axially slidable within the recesses. The recesses prevent the shuttle from rotating when the guide tabs are positioned within the recesses. The shuttle is freely rotatable when the guide tabs are positioned outside of the recesses. The housing defines a pair of detents to stabilize the shuttle via the guide tabs prior to movement of the shuttle.

Problems solved by technology

Although certain activities, extreme surfing for example, can produce greater risk, any activity performed in water has the potential for personal injury or even death.

However, in this application, the water safety device is worn as a vest.

Although highly effective as a water safety device, the vest tends to encumber free movement, which is, unfortunately, a large deterrent for those who are engaged in near shore activities.

Thus, for those who fail to use a safety device or who use an inadequate device during the engagement of such activities, the potential risk for harm is heightened.

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