US3119132A - Life belt - Google Patents

Description

I. J. NAYAR LIFE BELT Jan. 28, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 15, 1962 INVENTOR- fs/mc JORGE MYA F,

ATTORNEY Jan. 28, 1964 I. J. NAYAR 3,119,132

LIFE BELT Filed Nov. 15, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

A TTORIVE') United States Patent ()fiice 3,ll9,132 Patented Jan. 28, 1964 3,119,132 LIFE BELT Isaac Jorge Nayar, 354 Franklin St., Buenos Aires, Argentina Filed Nov. 15, 1962, Ser. No. 237,978 3 Claims. (Cl. 9-319) This invention relates to life preservers, and more particularly to a novel inflatable life belt.

More specifically, the invention relates to a novel inflatable life belt provided with a set of flexible pneumatic bags which, by means of a simple operation, can be readily converted into effective floats for immediate use as a life preserver.

To this end, the life belt comprises essentially a flexible band having corresponding clasp or buckle members for fastening together the free ends thereof so as to constitute a belt. This belt is provided with at least two elongated pockets having covers the closure of which is defined by a catch mounted on a guideway for each pocket. Within each of these pockets there is housed a folded pneumatic bag serving as a float, the inlet or charging nozzle of which is connected to a gas conduit leading to a common valve head operatively connected to a bottle containing a suitable gas for feeding said bags through said conduits. One end of each of a pair of lines guided by sets of guides is anchored to the control head of said valve, while the opposite ends of the lines are each secured to the catch of a corresponding guideway, so that the opening of the valve for feeding gas into the bags will simultaneously elease the catches defining the closure for the pockets housing said bags, thereby allowing said bags to pneu matically expand outwardly in the form of floats.

In accordance with the above, an object of the invention is to provide a safe life belt which will automatically extend the pneumatic bags outwardly of the pockets housing them.

A further object of the invention is to facilitate the operation of the system, bearing in mind that the circumstances requiring the use of the life belt demand a maximum actuating speed, which is obtained in the device of this invention inasmuch as the outward projection of the float bags is effected simultaneously with the gas bottle opening operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a life belt which will be comfortable in use due to the small dimensions thereof, for which purpose the pneumatic bags are folded into a close pack within the respective pockets when in inoperative position.

A further object of the invention is to provide an inflatable life belt having an extremely simple actuating mechanism which will not be subject to mechanical failure due to jamming of the catches on the pocket closure guideways.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an inflatable life belt which may be readily fastened and unfastened and which may be applied either over or underneath the users clothes.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a life belt which is relatively simple in construction and may be manufactured at a relatively low cost without sacrificing its functional efficiency.

A still further object of the invention is to provide for the simultaneous setting in operative position of both pneumatic bags as floats, for which purpose the actuation of a single control will operate a common discharge valve for feeding gas from a gas bottle to the respective floats through corresponding gas feed lines.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an inflatable life belt having a gas bottle which may be readily removed and changed for a fresh bottle when required.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the course of the following detailed description of the novel inflatable life belt.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and readily carried into practice, a preferred embodiment thereof has been illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a life belt in accordance with the invention, showing the general construction and arrangement of the component parts thereof;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the life belt shown in FIG. 1 with the ends thereof fastened together;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the valve head, showing the manner of anchoring the ends of the lines connecting the small control hand-wheel with the slide catches closing the belt pockets, parts being shown broken away;

FIG. 4 is a partly sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but after rotating the control hand-wheel so as to allow the flow of gas into the pneumatic bags and at the same time release said bags, parts being shown broken away;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a life belt in accordance with the invention as applied to the body of a user, a portion of the latter being shown in dotted lines; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 5, clearly showing the operation of actuating the gas flow valve and the simultaneous opening of the float pockets, the floats being shown in the course of being inflated so as to perform their life preserving function.

The same reference characters are used to indicate like or corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

The life belt according to this invention, which may be made of canvas, plastic sheet material, leather or other suitable material, designated generally by the reference character a, comprises a plurality of bands 1 (elastic or otherwise) having integrally therewith, or preferably linked thereto as shown in the drawings, a backing 2 for fixing the pockets 3, the free ends of said belt terminating in clasp members 4 or the like for fastening the belt about the waist.

As shown in the drawings, at a zone opposite the clasp members 4 when connected to each other, and which are operatively arranged to one side of the users waist, the bands 1 are supplemented with a plate 5 provided with slotted end portions 6 for the linked insertion of said bands 1. A pair of clamps or loop members 7 are secured to the outer surface of said plate 5, the lower clamp or loop member 7 having a bottom on which there is seated a bottle 8 containing a charge of gas (carbon dioxide or any other suitable gas) which can be delivered for in flating purposes through the actuation of a small handwheel 8 fixed on a stem 9 connected to the plug of a valve 10.

The lower edges of the backing members 2 have a hinge line 11 of a cover 12 forming a part of pocket 3 wherein there is housed a suitably folded flexible pneumatic bag 13 (one for each pocket 3), for which purpose the bags 13 are formed of flexible sheet material such as rubber, plastic or the like. Each bag 13 is provided with an inlet nozzle 14- from which corresponding flexible gas conduits 1515' extend to the valve head 16 fed by the bottle 8 through the valve 10.

The covers of the pockets 3 may include suitable frame members, and the upper edge 17 of each pocket 3 is provided with a slidahle member 18 guided on a guideway which, together with a stop 18 or the like provided on the upper edge of each cover 12, constitutes a catch defining the closure for said pocket 3 having the pneumatic bags 13 housed therein. To each catch member 18 there is anchored one end of a line 19 which is guided by sets of eye-members or guides 20 and extends to a crosshead 21 fixed to the stem 9 attached to the valve control 3' for the gas bottle 8, the opposite ends of said lines 19 being secured to respective diametrically opposite points of said crosshead 21 in the embodiment illustrated, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

In operation, the life belt a is fastened around the waist 'of a user b (FIGS. 5 and 6) by means of the clasp members 4 (FIG. 2) the pockets 3 remaining towards the front and the back of the user, respectively, and the clasp members at one side, while the gas bottle 8 with its regulating valve stem 9 will remain at the opposite side of the users waist. In practice, the gas bottle 8 may equally well be arranged towards the front of the user, for example adjacent the front pocket 3, if so desired.

With the belt a applied around the waist of the user b as shown in FIG. 5, it will form a compact and not uncomfortable assembly, with the pneumatic bags suitably folded within the front and rear pockets 3 which are held closed by the upper catches 18.

In order to convert the belt into an effective life preserver, it will be sufficient to turn the small hand-wheel -8' in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6 so as to cause the opening of the valve 10, whereby the gas contained in the bottle 8 will pass from the valve head 16 through the conduits 15-15 and into the bags 13 which are thus gradually inflated. At the same time, and since the lines 19 connected to the catches 18 are anchored to the crosshead 21 on the stem 9 (FIG. 3), the rotation of the small hand-wheel 8 fixed on said stem 9 will cause said crosshead 21 to turn and thereby draw the lines 19 (FIG. 4) which will in turn draw the catches away from stops 18, thereby releasing the stops 18 and allowing the opening of said pockets 3. Whereupon, the expansion of the bags 13 due to the pressure of the gas fed thereto, will cause the opening of the covers 12 and finally the projection of said bags outwardly and upwardly in the form of floats, as shown in FIG. 6 of the accompanying drawings.

It is evident that in carrying the invention into practice, many changes and/or modifications in the structural details may occur to those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A life belt comprising a sectional band, means for fastening together the free ends thereof, a pair of rigid pockets between the sections having separate covers, catch members for holding said covers closed, the upper edges of said covers being in matching relation with relatively rigid upper edges of the pocket openings and constituting respective guideways for the catch member for each pocket, each of said pockets when in closed position hous- 4 ing an inoperatively folded pneumatic bag, a gas charge container removably mounted on said band and having a valve, a valve head and a valve stem, a gas inlet connected to each of said pneumatic bags, 2. gas conduit extending from each gas inlet to said valve head, a small valve-actuating hand-wheel fixed to the stern of said valve, a crosshead fixed to said valve stem, a pair of guide lines having one end anchored to said crosshead and the opposite end secured to the respective cover catch member, whereby the gas container valve opening operation will automatically withdraw the catch members and release said pneumatic bags.

2. A life belt comprising a number of spaced elastic band sections forming loops, plates between certain of said band sections, said plates connected at the ends thereof to certain ends of said loops, said plates constituting the front and back of the belt when worn, another plate interposed between other ends of said loops, said plate constituting one side of the belt when worn, and clasps secured to still other ends of said loops, said clasps and related band constituting the other side of the belt when worn, said clasps constituting means for fastening the belt around the waist of the wearer, rigid pockets supported on the outside of said front and back plates, inflatable bags in said pockets, releasable covers for said pockets, releasable means for holding the covers in closed condition, a bottle of inflatable substance supported on the outside of said side plate, operative connections between said bottle and said bags for inflating the bags, a common control valve means for said connections, said valve means including a valve head, a turnable valve stem for actuating said valve head and a wheel on the stem for manually turning the same, means of operative connection between the valve stem and said releasable means whereby upon turnling of the stem by the wheel the bags are inflated and the covers of the pockets are automatically released, the inflating operation of the bags forcing the covers to open condition and forcing the bags to inflated condition outwardly of the pockets.

3. The life belt of claim 2 wherein the releasable holding means comprises a slidable catch on the top of the body of the pocket and a stop member on the cover coacting with the catch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Desjarlais July 21, 1959

Claims (1)

1. A LIFE BELT COMPRISING A SECTIONAL BAND, MEANS FOR FASTENING TOGETHER THE FREE ENDS THEREOF, A PAIR OF RIGID POCKETS BETWEEN THE SECTIONS HAVING SEPARATE COVERS, CATCH MEMBERS FOR HOLDING SAID COVERS CLOSED, THE UPPER EDGES OF SAID COVERS BEING IN MATCHING RELATION WITH RELATIVELY RIGID UPPER EDGES OF THE POCKET OPENINGS AND CONSTITUTING RESPECTIVE GUIDEWAYS FOR THE CATCH MEMBER FOR EACH POCKET, EACH OF SAID POCKETS WHEN IN CLOSED POSITION HOUSING AN INOPERATIVELY FOLDED PNEUMATIC BAG, A GAS CHARGE CONTAINER REMOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID BAND AND HAVING A VALVE, A VALVE HEAD AND A VALVE STEM, A GAS INLET CONNECTED TO EACH OF SAID PNEUMATIC BAGS, A GAS CONDUIT EXTENDING FROM EACH GAS INLET TO SAID VALVE HEAD, A SMALL VALVE-ACTUATING HAND-WHEEL FIXED TO THE STEM OF SAID VALVE, A CROSSHEAD FIXED TO SAID VALVE STEM, A PAIR OF GUIDE LINES HAVING ONE END ANCHORED TO SAID CROSSHEAD AND THE OPPOSITE END SECURED TO THE RESPECTIVE COVER CATCH MEMBER, WHEREBY THE GAS CONTAINER VALVE OPENING OPERATION WILL AUTOMATICALLY WITHDRAW THE CATCH MEMBERS AND RELEASE SAID PNEUMATIC BAGS.

Images