Personal floatation device
OwnerJulien Pascal Deslauriersinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A personal floatation device comprises a wide buoyant collar hinged to a thoracic float. The collar has a front portion projecting forwardly under the chin of the wearer to cooperate with the thoracic float to limit forward tilting movements of the wearer's head. The hinge between the collar and the thoracic floater provides for the combination of the buoyancy of the collar and the thoracic float when a wearer fall face down in the water. The juxtaposition of the collar and the thoracic float contributes to rapidly pivot the wearer's head out of the water. A buoyant flap is articulated to a rear end of the collar so as to be only responsive to backward movements of the wearer's upper body.
Claims20
A personal floatation device comprising a front floatation member adapted to generally overlay a wearer's chest region, a collar floatation member adapted to at least partly surround a neck region of the wearer, said collar floatation member being articulated to said front floatation member for relative movement with respect thereto between a first position wherein a front portion of said collar floatation member and said front floatation member are at least partly in juxtaposition so as to work in tandem to make use of the combined floatation capacity thereof, and a second position wherein said collar floatation member extends at an angle relative to said front floatation member to safely maintain the head of the wearer substantially above water, and a harness for attaching said front floatation member and said collar floatation member on the wearer's body.
A personal floatation device comprising a collar floatation member adapted to be worn at a neck region of a wearer to provide buoyant support, a front floatation member adapted to be worn at a chest region of the wearer, said front floatation device having right and left sides, said left side having a different buoyancy than that of said right side to create a controlled imbalance so as to turn an unconscious wearer from a face down position to a face up position in which the wearer floats on his back with the head thereof lying on the collar floatation member above water.
A personal floatation device comprising a head support member made of a buoyant material for supporting a wearer head above water, said head support member having a rear section adapted to extend rearwardly of the nape of the wearer's neck, and a buoyant flap movably mounted to a distal end portion of said rear section so as to normally float freely on the water while still being responsive to backward movements of the wearer's head and upper body for cooperating with said rear section in supporting the head of the wearer above water.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.