Inflatable life vest

In a life vest including buoyancy means to support the body of a person, gas supply means for supplying gas to the interior of the buoyancy means, the buoyancy means comprising front and rear tube means, each of the tube means having front and rear walls connected together along the marginal edges thereof in an airtight manner, the rear tube and the front tube being connected together, the buoyancy means having an inside marginal portion and an outside marginal portion, the improvement comprising:

• the gas supply means comprising gas supply cartridge means for holding a given amount of gas under pressure and for releasing the gas into the tube means, the gas supply means further comprising oral delivery means for supplying an additional amount of gas to the tube means.
• temporary connecting means on the tube means sufficiently strong to remain connected after release of the gas from said supply cartridge means holding corresponding sections of the tube means together after the supply cartridge means has released its said given amount of gas into the tube means, the buoyancy means having a first volume when the temporary connecting means is holding the corresponding sections of the tube means together after inflation by said given amount of gas from said gas supply cartridge means, the first volume of gas from the gas supply cartridge means providing sufficient buoyancy to support the body and filling said buoyancy means to less than the capacity it has after release of the temporary connecting means which releases the tube means, said tube means having a second volume greater than said first volume upon release of said temporary connecting means whereby additional gas may be supplied through the oral buoyancy means with a second volume to provide additional buoyancy to the body.