Combined life preserver and cushion

April 8, 1958

D. I. PEER

2,829,386

COMBINED LIFE PRESERVER AND CUSHION

Filed March 22, 1954

Sheets-Sheet 1

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April 8, 1958 d. i. peer 2,829,386

COMBINED LIFE PRESERVER AND CUSHION Filed March 22, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2

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ATTORNEY

United States Patent Office „ , _A^2&gt;829’³⁸⁶

Patented Apr. 8, 1958

For the purpose of introducing air into the container 10, a tube 18 made of rubber or the like has one end portion extending through a suitable opening in the end wall 15 of the container adjacent the upper left hand corner thereof looking at Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings, as indicated at 19. This end portion of the tube is secured to the end wall 15 by any appropriate means, such as by vulcanizing or the like and the inner end of the tube opens into the interior of the container. The outer free end of the tube 18 has a mouthpiece, generally indicated at 20, mounted thereon. The mouthpiece comprises a tubular extension 21 having an external annular flange 22 at its inner end which may be formed integral with the outer free end of the tube. The wall of the outer end portion of the extension 21 is of reduced thickness so as to form an outwardly facing interior annular shoulder 23 against which the inner end of the reduced inner end wall portion 24 of a tip 25 abuts.

The provision of the reduced wall portion 24 provides an annular inwardly facing interior shoulder 26 against which the outer end of the extension 21 abuts. The extension 21 and tip 25 may be frictionally and detachably held together or they may be permanently joined as by vulcanizing or the like.

The tip 25 has a through bore or passageway 27 which communicates at its inner end with a chamber 28 formed in the extension 21. The flow of air through the bore 27 into the tube 18 is controlled by a ball valve 29 which is held on a valve seat 30 formed in the inner end of the ³⁰ wall of the tip 25 by a coil spring 31. One end of the spring engages the valve 29 and its opposite end engages an abutment 32 which may be in the form of a washer secured to or formed integrally with the flange 22.

For the purpose of deflating or partially deflating the ^3S container 10, a valve controlled port is provided in the upper medial portion of the end wall 14 of the container. This area of the wall 14 is thickened to provide a boss 33 having a through screw threaded tapered bore 34 communicating with a tapered opening 35 in the wall 14. The bore 34 and opening 35 are closed by a tapered screw threaded plug 36 which is held captive by a chain 37, one end of winch is attached to an eye screw 38 carried by the plug and the opposite end of which is attached to a ₄₅ ring 39 secured to the boss 33 in any suitable manner.

A supporting member 40 which may be made of waterproof material, such as, rubber lined fabric or rubberized nylon is secured to the outer face of the forward wall 12 of the container in any suitable manner, such as, by vul_go canizing or the like. The member 40 is a substantially rectangular sheet of material of substantially the same width as the forward wall 12, but extending thereabove and carries at its upper free edge a waist engaging band or strip 41. The band 41 has its opposite end portions ex55 tending laterally beyond the end walls 14 and 15 of the container 10, as shown in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings. The outer face of the band 41 has attached thereto by stitches or the like longitudinally spaced apart belt receiving loops 42 for removably receiving therethrough an ₆₀ adjustable belt 43 of the conventional type having on its opposite ends the cooperating members of conventional snap on buckles or fasteners.

The lower end portion of the member 40 extends below the bottom wall 17 of the container and is bifurcated as 05 at 44 by a dovetail shaped cutaway portion to form a pair of depending leg portions 45. Each leg portion 45 carries at its lower edge a leg engaging band or strip 46. The inner adjacent ends of the bands 46 are spaced apart as is shown in Figure 3 of the drawings and the γθ outer end portion of each leg band 46 extends laterally beyond its leg portion 45. The outer face of each band 46 has attached thereto by stitches or the like longitu2,829,386 δ COMBINED LIFE PRESERVER AND CUSHION

Daniel I. Peer, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application March 22,1954, Serial No. 417,617 2 Claims. (Cl. 9—17) ¹⁰

The present invention relates to a combined life pre- 15 server and cushion and has for an object the provision of a device of this kind which can be securely and yet quickly detachably secured to the person of the user so that it will be retained in its proper position to serve as a seat cushion when the user assumes a sitting position and as a life 20 preserver in the event the user falls into the water.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device of this character capable of being inflated to the proper extent by the user simply blowing air through his mouth into an inflatable container so that the necessity of employing mechanical means, such as, pumps or the like is eliminated.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a life preserver and cushion which can be easily deflated and folded into a compact package of such a size that it can be conveniently carried in the pocket of a conventional coat.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a device of this type which can be worn with equal comfort by men and women even when wearing a skirt.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a device of this character which can be used as an emergency water bag for carrying water for desert travel or for carrying gasoline for an automobile.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be hereinafter more fully described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings in which the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device constructed in accordance with the present invention and illustrated as applied to a person in a sitting position,

Figure 2 is a similar view showing the person in a standing position and in the operation of inflating the device,

Figure 3 is a plan view of the device,

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4—4 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5—5 of Figure 3,

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6—6 of Figure 5, and

Figure 7 is a top plan view of the two belt sections employed for holding the leg portions of the device in position.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 10 generally indicates an inflatable container which can be made of two pieces of water-proof rubber lined fabric, or rubberized nylon or the like. The peripheral edge portions of the container are in contacting opposed relation and are secured together in any suitable manner, such as by vulcanizing or the like, along the lines 11 to form a closed air pocket or bag. The container or bag has a forward wall 12, a rear wall 13, end walls 14 and 15, a top wall 16 and a bottom wall 17.

2,829,386 dinally spaced apart belt receiving loops 47 for removably receiving therethrough an adjustable belt 48 of the conventional type having on its opposite ends the cooperating members 52, 53 of conventional snap on buckles or fasteners. The .members 52 may be in the form of 5 tongues and the members 53 in the form of hooks for cooperating with the tongues. The belts 43 and 48 may be made of any other suitable water-proof material and are elastic so as to be capable of stretching when the wearer moves about. 10

In the use of the device it will be adjusted to the person of the user in the area of the buttocks as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings with the supporting member 40 contacting the clothing of the user. The waist band 41 will assume a substantially semi-circular shape and 15 engage the waist of the user and be held in that position by the belt 43. The leg bands 45 will then be brought into engagement with the legs of the person and held in position by the belts 48.

The user will then place the mouthpiece 20 of the tube 20 18 in his mouth, as illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawing,. and inflate the container 10 by blowing into the mouthpiece. The spring 31 is a relatively weak spring and the pressure of the. air from the user’s mouth is sufficient to unseat the ball valve 29 and permit the air 25 to flow through the tube 18 into the container. When the container has been filled with air to the desired extent, the force of the spring 31 and the pressure of the air in the container are sufficient to keep the ball valve 29 tightly on its seat to prevent escape of the air from θθ the container. In the event too much air has been introduced into the container, the excess air may be allowed to escape by unscrewing the plug 36. The free end portion of the tube will now be inserted into the loops 42 of the band 41 to prevent the tube from be- ³⁵coming fouled with other objects. If desired, the container may be inflated before it is attached to the person.

The use of the device as an air cushioned seat is illus- . trated in Figure 1 of the drawings in which the container 10 is interposed between the person and a seat 49 of a boat indicated at 50. The belts 43 and 48 will securely hold the device in its proper position whether the person is in a standing, sitting or other position. The device will also serve as a life preserver in case the wearer falls overboard or while swimming. ⁴¹

If the device is to be used by a woman wearing a skirt, the leg belts 48 will be joined together by engaging the hook 53 of one belt over the tongue 52 of the other belt and the belts will then be: threaded through the loops 47 of the leg bands 46. The free ends of the belts 48 will then be joined by inserting the other hook 53 of one belt over the other tongue 52 of the other belt to form one continuous belt to encircle the wearer’s hips.

The corners of the cushion or container 10 are rounded ⁰⁰as at 51 to present a neater appearance and so that the corners will not catch on an object but will slide over it, for example, when the wearer sits down. This is an advantage over square corners which might catch on the edge of a boat seat and cause the person to lose his ⁸⁰balance.

A reinforcing strip 54 extends around and is secured to the outer faces of the rear wall 13, top 16 and bottom 17 of the container 10 to divide the container into two equal air pockets 55 and 56 for providing good balance in the device.

When it is no longer desired to use the device, either as a seat or life preserver, the container 10 may be deflated by removing the plug 36. The device may now be folded into a compact package and placed in the pocket of the user’s coat.

If it is desired to carry drinking water or gasoline or other fluid in the container 10, the desired fluid may be introduced into the container 10 through bore 34 and the opening 35 in the wall 14 of the container and the plug replaced to prevent spillage of the contents.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims.