A backpack for scuba diver air tanks
8 claims: 3 independent, 5 dependent
- 1RIVENDICAZIONI 1. Imbragatura dorsale morbida per bombole di aria di sommozzatori SCUSA cgomprendente:un elemento a bolla riempito di fluido avente un elemento di montaggio della bombola d'aria fissato ad esso, e mezzi per fissare l'elemento a bolla ad un sommozzatore SCUBA con I 'elemeno a bolla disposto fra il suo dorso e la bombola d'aria.
- 2Imbragatura dorsale morbida secondo la rivendicazione 1, in cui l'elemento a bolla presenta un organo di scheletro o di ossatura facente corpo con esso, il quale assicura all'elemento a bolla un elemento di montaggio della bombola.
- 3Imbragatura dorsale morbida secondo la rivendicazione 1, in cui l'elemento a bolla viene fissato ad un capo di vestiario esterno del sommozzatore.
- 4Imbragatura dorsale morbida secondo la rivendiil ·. cazione 1. in cui l'elemento a bolla contiene una valvola per modificare il volume del fluido contenuto nell'elemento a boi la.
- 5Imbragatura dorsale morbida secondo la rivendicazione 1, in cui detto elemento a bolla è formato da due pezzi di materiale saldati insieme lungo i bordi, comprendenti una coppia di saldature disposte parai lelamente ai suoi bordi laterali verticali e distanziate verso l'interno da essi per una porzione della lunghezza di detti bordi laterali, nonché una saldatura disposta lungo la parte centrale dell'elemento a bolla parallelamente a detta coppia di saldature e disposta fra di esse anche per una porzione della lunghezza dei bordi laterali.
- 6Imbragatura dorsale morbida secondo la rivendicazione 5, in cui detto elemento a bolla comprende una coppia di saldature montanti disposte per il posizionamento sotto la fascetta che trattiene la bombola di aria alì'imbragatura dorsale in modo da assicurare che siano forniti dei canali di fluido per consentire al fluido di comunicare in modo continuo fra l'estremità superiore e l'estremità inferiore di detto elemento a boi la.
- 7Imbragatura dorsale morbida per bombole d'aria di sommozzatori SCUBA comprendente:un elemento a bolla riempito di fluido il quale è disposto fra il dorso del sommozzatore e la sua bombola d'aria, detto elemento a bolla avendo tagli laterali formati in esso per permettere ad una fascetta di fissaggio della bombola d'aria di circondare sia l'elemento a bolla sia la bombola d'aria in modo da trattenere la bombola d'aria contro l'elemento a bolla, detto elemento a bolla includendo una molteplicità di camere di alloggiamento del fluido formate parallelamente ai bordi laterali di detto elemento a bolla e mezzi per permettere al fluido di muoversi verso le camere formate al disopra e al disotto della posizione della fascetta di ritegno della bombola di aria, un elemento di montaggio della bombola d'aria fissato a detto elemento a bolla in prossimità del suo centro, una valvola per modificare il volume di fluido contenuto in detto elemento a bolla, e mezzi per fissare l'elemento a bolla ad un sommozzatore SCUBA con detto elemento a bolla disposto fra il suo dorso e la bombola d'aria. B. Imbragatura dorsale morbida secondo la rivendicazione 7, in cui detto elemento a bolla è fissato in modo staccabile ad un capo di vestiario che può essere indossato dal sommozzatore.
- 89. Imbragatura dorsale morbida per bombole d'aria di sommozzatori SCUBA, comprendente:un elemento a bolla riempito di fluido il quale è disposto fra il dorso di un sommozzatore e la sua bombola d'aria, detto elemento a bolla essendo formato con due pezzi di materiale saldati insieme lungo i bordi periferici ed aventi una coppia di tagli laterali formati in essi per permettere ad una fascetta di ritegno della bombola d'aria di circondare sia la bombola d'aria sia una porzione della larghezza dell'elemento a bolla in modo da trattenere la bombola d'aria contro l'elemento a bolla, detto elemento a bolla includendo ulteriori saldature distanziate verso l'interno ed una saldatura disposta lungo il centro dell'elemento a bolla parallelamente a detta coppia di saldature e disposta fra di esse, dette saldature estendendosi soltanto per una porzione della lunghezza di detti bordi laterali, nonché una coppia di distanziatori disposti fra le superfici interne dell'elemento a bolle disposti in adiacenza ai tagli laterali previsti nell'elemento a bolla ed al disotto della fascetta di ritegno della bombola d'aria per impedire alla fascetta di schiacciare l'elemento a bolla fra la bombola e la fascetta e per impedire al fluì do di comunicare fra l'estremità superiore e l'estre19 miti inferiore di detto elemento a bolla, un organo di scheletro o di ossatura fissato a detto elemento a bolla lungo detta saldatura disposto lungo il centro di detto elemento a bolla per fissare una base di montaggio della bombola d'aria a detto elemento a boi la, e mezzi per fissare detto elemento a bolla ad un capo di vestiario che può essere indossato dal sommozzatore. Roma, ì 4 biC. 1989 pp.: WILLIAM D. WALTERS ING. BARZANO* ZANARDO ROMA S.p.A TA/mag/ 12822 UN MANDATARIO per se e per gli altri Antonio Taliercio (N° d'iecr. 1711 \ ΐ υ F/G..J p.p.: WALTERS William D. ING. BARZANO 1 i ZANARDO ROMA S.p.A. UN MANDATARIO per se e per gli altri Carlo Luigi Iannone (Ν’ d'iBcr. 466( -O— L~ p.p.: WALTERS William D. ING. BARZANO' ZANARDO ROMA S.p.A.
Independent claims8
114 paragraphs in 27 sections, as filed
TITLE
INVENTOR
WALTERS WILLIAM 0. fi. ζAUTORt / lή
TALIERCIO ANTONIO '
BARZANO<sup>1</sup> AND ZANARDO ROMA SPA
VIA PIEMONTE 26
00100 ROME
SOFT BACK HARNESS FOR THE SUPPORT OF AIR CYLINDERS FOR IMMERSIONERS.
WALTERS WILLIAM D.
PRIORITY<sup>1</sup> USA
SHORT QUESTION INDUSTRIAL INVENTION DECEMBER 14, 1988 N. 07 / 284.124
Rome, May 27, 1993
THE MANAGER (GIOVANNA MORELLI)
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\ \
TO THE MINISTEROKELL ILITQUSTRIA DEL CO
CENTRAL PATENT OFFICE<sup>1</sup> ROME
PATENT APPLICATION FOR INDUSTRIAL INVENTION
ERCIO AND CRAFTS
A. APPLICANT (S):
1) surname, first name / company, type of city. Iprov.J / rwttOne L
2) surname, first name / company, type L city, {prov. (/ nation L.
Code requesting the
WALTERS William D.
residence code 3P.4
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Byron, California, USA,
AJ identification code Li _ \ _ ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ι i
J identification code I ι ι ι: ι ι ι ι ι ι ι ll
B REPRESENTATIVE: representative code LL no. albo 11l7lL surname first name iTALIERCIO Antonio and others________ ......................... I cod fiiule Ι ΐ Ι ί Ι ΐΟΐ5ίΟΐ5ΐ1ΐ8ΐ4ΐΟΐ5βΑΐ denuT.indziune studio of belonging ING. BARZANO '& ZANARDQ ROMA SpA, ___ I vie ί. Piedmont ___ ι 1ιi2i6i city l Rome _________ ι "<sub>P</sub> iQiOitSJi <sub>(pm</sub>) iSM
C. ELECTIVE DOMICILE: name ί_See SOPTA_________________________________I vìe i___________________I η. IIIII city I__I chap IIIIII (pzev) Li I
D TITLE proposed class (sez./cl/scl): I— 3 63-C
1Soft dorsal harness .for supposers. DESIGNATED INVENTORS:
surname, first name surname, first name „ι WALTERS William D .................................... ... ........._....... ι <sub>3</sub>, <sub>L</sub>___. 21 L_________________________________________________________________J 4 | I - F. PRIORITY: priority code U country type number
1) l USA _____ Dom.Brev.Indole ___________ l ι 07 / 284,124
2) ί ....._______ I I_________________________________J I___
G CULTURE COLLECTION CENTER ENABLED. FOR MICROBIOLOGICAL PROCEDURES name: I____ date
J ί ...... ι ,, ιΖ, ι ...... i ........ i7j ........ t ..... ι .ι ... ..J
H. SPECIAL NOTES:
ι * Ildatomancante is not available as of today, for which we reserve the right, ι
DOCUMENTATONE ATTACHED l | I RESOLVED 1.9
2) IMS RISISI n. I_i3
3) LftÌS RIS / SI / NO
4) I ......... NO RIS / SI / NQ <sub>5</sub>ι lB | 8 RIS / SI / NO η. I ili 6i L iNQ RIS / YES / NO?! l ......... NO RIS / YES / NO
8) certificate of payment of Lire L
9) revenue stamps η I 11 of lire L FILLED IN THE CONTINUE YES / NO LÈLQ description with summary and claims drawing tables assignment letterXtt K> X MttMMXttiM NNrXeX designation invent ownership documents with Italian translation authorization and act of assignment complete name of the applicant
Duecentocinquantanovemlla
Five thousand
THE APPLICANT (S)
ING. BARZANO »& ZANARDO ROME
PROVINCIAL OFFICE INO. COMM. ART. OF L REPORT OF DEPOSIT: NUMBER 01 OOMANOA
04/12/1989-Π.80
UP
This copy requires an authentic copy YES / NO ,.
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towl<sup>mt</sup>
48 662 A89
ROME .............................. I «says: fifiJ
The year nineteen hundred day the {i) applicant ^) indicated above (4 has (have) submitted and signed this application, made up of ii. LQG
The i 'ί<sup>1</sup>'ί' <sup>r</sup> p
I. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES BY THE OFFICIAL OFFICIAL: I _________ χ'-ίΛ - ',', .. ,,,
SITANTE
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stamp of the Utflclo
DESCRIPTION supplied, a patent application for an invention from • or:
soft dorsal needling to support the bonid'aria for divers on behalf of: WILLIAM D. WALTERS
SUMMARY
The object of the invention is a soft back harness for SCUBA divers tanks or air cylinders, in which a bubble element filled with a fluid is fixed to the diver cylinder and is placed between the cylinder and the diver's body.
DESCRIPTION
Field of the invention
The present invention relates to the back harnesses for SCUBA divers for mounting tanks or air cylinders on the back of the diver during a scuba dive. More particularly, it refers to an improved back harness which is soft and malleable in order to more comfortably cushion the weight and configuration of the air cylinder on the back of the §
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diver.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE FRONT TECHNIQUE
The back harnesses for air cylinders of SCUBA divers are in most cases made up of a panel of rigid plastic material that can be fixed by means of clamps on the back of a diver or can be fixed to a garment of diver clothing, for for example a buoyancy compensator or a jacket. A typical buoyancy compensator and a typical dorsal air bottle harness are described in U.S. Pat. No. No. 4,694,772 concerning a buoyancy compensator belt for divers, column 3, lines 15-29. The problem encountered with a dorsal harness in molded plastic material consists in the fact that it proves to be very uncomfortable and can be particularly annoying and tiring for prolonged dives.
Before the present invention, only fabric, fabric, metal, plastic materials or a combination of the aforementioned materials have been used to produce back support slings for the gas breathing cylinders of SCUBA divers, hereinafter referred to as the term gas cylinders. air. Back harnesses of fabric and cloth experience four different types of problems. Firstly, the cylinder can move from its position on the back of the diver due to the stretching of the material or a poor adaptation or a lack of configuration of the dorsal harness on the diver. The movement of the dorsal harness cell can be very irritating or can cause disturbances, particularly if it allows the cylinder to come into contact with the diver's head, or if it allows the bomoola to roll from one side of the back of the diver to the other. duration of the dive. A second problem consists in the fact that the padding, which is supplied around the shoulders of the diver and around the tank, can cause floating problems and an upward thrust force which are generally made more complicated with increasing the thickness of the padding to obtain greater efficiency and greater comfort, to counterbalance this lifting force, the diver must carry more lead 01 on the weight belt in order to compensate for the increase in flotation. This requires that the diver carry a greater weight on the dive site and wear a greater weight underwater, which is inconvenient. The increase in inconvenience is perfectly proportionate.
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. weight gain weight. Thirdly, the variety of the different shapes of the backs of the divers represent a significant problem for the adaptation of a universal back harness in order to provide a good way of universal wearing. The back of a diver can be long or short, wide or narrow and the backbone can be deeply curved or straight. In order to adapt to these various configurations, a dorsal fabric harness will usually not fit perfectly with most divers somewhere or another. Fourth, in these back slings padded with rubber foam, a particularly annoying physical transformation occurs: the rubber foam compresses as the diver descends into the water. As the padding compresses, the adaptation of the golden harness becomes less perfect. For example, at 33 feet, about 10 meters deep, in water, a typical rubber foam is compressed to half its volume. The average dive is 60 feet, equal to about 20 meters, and the compression of the rubber foam at this depth is considerably greater.
The back harnesses with rigid structure, the plastic material or the metal for the support of SCUBA cylinders similarly present problems of adaptation and comfort. The rigid back harnesses do not adapt to the different shapes and sizes of the backs of the divers for the same reasons. Although the back slings of fabric and cloth can be provided with a padding which causes an increase in flotation, the rigid back slings can eliminate the increase in flotation but have a fixed configuration that to some extent in all cases does not have padding and it is uncomfortable. This can cause diver discomfort when tightening the cylinder to the extent necessary to prevent it from moving on its back and there may be considerable greater discomfort during the duration of a dive if the back harness can move or if it is so tight to cause cramps in the body. Therefore, a more comfortable back harness for SCUBA divers' air cylinders is required to allow for relaxed, more enjoyable and longer dives.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention consists of a soft back harness for SCUBA divers' air cylinders which uses a filled bubble element
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of liquid having an air cylinder mounting structure attached thereto. The air cylinder is fixed to the bubble element and a means is provided to secure the bubble element to the back of a SCUBA diver, with the bubble element arranged between its back and the air cylinder. The bubble element can be provided with its own harness or it can be fixed to a jacket which would then be connected to a flotation compensation device or it could be sewn directly into a flotation compensation device.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, an important object of the present invention is to provide a soft back harness for air cylinders of SCUBA divers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid filled bubble element which can be attached to a SCUBA diver air cylinder with the bubble element attached to the diver's back between the tank and its back.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a soft dorsal harness filled with SCUBA diver liquid in which the internal liquid can be subjected to a volume variation to obtain convenience and load adaptation.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a soft back harness for SCUBA divers that includes a liquid filled bubble element that can be mounted on the diver's back by means of clamps or it can be enclosed in a vest that can therefore be fixed to a buoyancy compensator or it can be mounted directly in the buoyancy compensator to cushion the air cylinders fixed to the back of the diver.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid filled bubble element which can be attached to an already existing back harness by means of a universal attachment assembly.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become evident when the soft back harness of the present invention is considered with reference to the attached drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 represents a front external vertical view of a buoyancy compensator jacket for SCU8A divers to be used with the present invention;
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<5 Figure 2 is a top view of the jacket of Figure 2 showing the soft salt harness of the present invention;
Figure 3 is a vertical front view of the bubble element of the soft back harness of the present invention;
Figure 4 represents a top view of the bubble element of Figure 4;
figure 5 represents a vertical front view of a cover for the bubble element of the present invention;
figure 6 represents a top view of the cover of figure 5;
figure 7 represents a vertical front view of a stiffening device as used with the present invention;
figure 8 represents a vertical front view of the assembly panel of the air cylinder as used with the present invention;
figure 9 represents a top view of the assembly panel of figure 8;
Figure 10 is a partial rear internal vertical view showing the belt used to connect the cover on the bubble element of the present invention to the SCUBA submersible jacket of Figure 1;
figure 11 represents a partial top view, in partial section, showing the attachment of the mounting band of the air cylinder to the bubble element.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED FORM OF REALIZATION
Reference is now made to the drawings for a description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein similar reference numbers represent similar elements on corresponding views.
Figures 2, 3 and 4 represent the bubble element 11 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the simplest form of its structure, two pieces of a flexible plastic material are joined together by means of hot-welded seams with the outer side edges 13 and 15 welded together in a generally rectangular configuration. In the operating position, the length of the rectangular bubble element is oriented vertically with respect to the back of the diver and in alignment with the cylindrical configuration of the air cylinder.
A pair of lateral cuts 19 are formed in the bubble element 11 to allow a band
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V, for fixing the air cylinder to surround both the bubble element and the air cylinder and to hold the air cylinder against the bubble element.
A plurality of chambers 23, 25 are formed in the bubble element essentially parallel to its vertical lateral edges 15. Some of them are formed by a pair of welds or seals 27 which are arranged parallel to its vertical lateral edges and are spaced towards the internal from them to the internal ends of the lateral cuts 19 for a portion of the length of the lateral edges. A weld 29 is provided along the center of the bubble element parallel to the pair of the lateral welds 27 and is arranged between them. This allows essentially to form four parallel vertical chambers in which the two lateral or external chambers 23 are interrupted in an intermediate position in their length to allow the fixing band of the cylinder to surround the central portion of the bubble element.
A pair of elongated upright welds 31 are provided in the center of the bubble element in order to maintain a liquid communication channel open along their edges between the upper chamber and the lower chamber 33 and 37 respectively, so that the clamp the fixing of the cylinder cannot compress the bubble element and prevent the movement of the fluid between the upper chamber and the lower chamber of the bubble element. The upright welds 31 comprise spacers or ribs (not shown) inside the bubble element to space the internal surfaces of the bubble element from each other adjacent the upright welds. The spacers are simply made up of pieces of the bubble element material having a thickness of approximately 1/4 inch, pan at 6.35 mm, and are configured identically to the upright welds.
A stiffener or frame member 39 is attached to the rear side of the central weld 29 to provide support for the cylinder mounting plate 41. The cylinder mounting plate is fixed to the outside of the cylinder element 11 generally in the center of the bubble element, while the framework 39 is fixed to the opposite or rear side with the bubble element imprisoned between the framework or skeleton and cylinder mounting plate 41.
In a preferred form, a cover 43 is provided for enclosing the bubble element so as to offer
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»
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frire protection against abrasions. The stiffening or skeleton element 39 can be mounted both inside and outside the cover. The fasteners 45 penetrate through the lid to secure the cylinder mounting plate and the framework to the bubble element.
A valve 47 is provided in the bubble element to modify or vary the volume of liquid contained in the bubble element for reasons of convenience and to adjust itself according to the different weight loads of the air cylinders. The liquid can be any of any number of materials comprising water, gel, viscous fluids, etc., all of which have the characteristic of being at least initially slightly fluid to allow the back harness to adjust to the shape of the diver configuration and to comfortably house the air cylinder. Although a foam can be used to fill the bubble element according to the present invention, most foams have such a low density that they would increase the floating effect, which is one of the advantages of the present invention, to eliminate the maximum possible part. of the buoyancy force from the dorsal harness through the use of a dense liquid in order to provide a neutral buoyancy for the liquid cushion. The liquids preferably used would remain in liquid form so as to be adaptable to the various configurations of the backs, but could consist of a gel or a plastic material that hardens over time and therefore becomes semi-rigid or rigid. Although liquids of higher viscosity may seem preferable for most divers, since they would tend to cushion any movement of the cylinder on the back of the diver, water will probably be the most universally used liquid.
A means is provided for securing the bubble element to a SCUBA diver with the bubble element disposed between the back of the diver and the air cylinder. In its simplest form, the bubble element could be provided with clamps or a belt or it could be fixed to other coupling elements in an appropriate position on the back of the diver. As an alternative, the bubble element could be fixed or sewn into a vest or another piece of clothing in the form of an element similar to the vest and in turn it can be worn by the diver above a buoyancy compensator or in a removable way or if-
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permanently fixed inside the buoyancy compensator. If the jacket is secured within the buoyancy compensator 51, the clamps for the cylinder would then provide means for passing through the buoyancy compensator. The bubble element could be fixed directly to a classic panel of plastic material for back harness, however, in its most preferred embodiment, the soft back harness usually would be a single body part of the floating compensator mounted on its belt ties 49.
An alternative form of the present invention would consist in providing a larger skeleton member 39 for the soft harness which could possibly take the form of a fairly rigid panel having compartments for liquids formed on it so as to provide the sling characteristics soft of the present invention. In such a configuration, the panel would essentially be the cylinder mounting member and the cavities formed on the panel would form its bubble portion, as exposed in the claims of the present patent application.
Therefore, it will be seen from the description of the preferred embodiment that all the aims and advantages of the invention have been achieved. Although the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in considerable detail, the invention should not be limited to such details which may have been disclosed, except to the extent made necessary by the appended claims.
Contents27
23 sheets
Sheet 1 Sheet 2 Sheet 3 Sheet 4 Sheet 5 Sheet 6 Sheet 7 Sheet 8 Sheet 9 Sheet 10 Sheet 11 Sheet 12 Sheet 13 Sheet 14 Sheet 15 Sheet 16 Sheet 17 Sheet 18 Sheet 19 Sheet 20 Sheet 21 Sheet 22 Sheet 23
5 members in 3 offices
Priority claims5
| Document | Office | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 07284124 | United States of America | – | |
| 28412488 | United States of America | A | |
| 28412488 | United States of America | A | |
| 07284124 | – | – | – |
| US19880284124 | – | – | – |
Members5
| Document | Office | Kind | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB8928298D0 | United Kingdom | D0 | |
| GB2226533A | United Kingdom | A | |
| US4952095A | United States of America | A | |
| IT8948662A1 | Italy | A1 | |
| IT1237253BThis record | Italy | B |
1 legal event, as the office reported them to INPADOC
Events
| Event | Code | |
|---|---|---|
| GrantedGranted0001 | 0001 |
Numbers
- Publication
- 0001237253
- Publication, DOCDB
- 1237253
- Publication, EPODOC
- IT1237253
- Application
- 4866289
- Application, DOCDB
- 4866289
- Application, EPODOC
- IT19890048662
Titles2
- Italian
- IMBRAGATURA DORSALE MORBIDA PER IL SUPPORTO DELLE BOMBOLE D'ARIA PER SOMMOZZATORI.
- English
- SOFT BACK HARNESS FOR THE SUPPORT OF AIR CYLINDERS FOR SPRAYERS.
Classification
- CPC, 2
- B63C11/08
- Y10S224/934
- IPC, 1
- B63C11 22
