US20060150292A1

US20060150292A1 - Rain and waterproof body suit having flotation capabilities

Info

Publication number: US20060150292A1
Application number: US11/372,304
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert Roy
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-06-18
Filing date: 2006-03-09
Publication date: 2006-07-13

Abstract

A waterproof body suit with an integrated hood, a nose and mouth shield, a torso portion defined at its bottom by a belt, legs portion terminating as integrated socks and being covered with booties having soles, a pair of standard sleeves and a second pair of watertight sleeves terminating with integrated mittens.

Description

This application is a continuation in part of patent application Ser. No. 10/872,017 filed Jun. 18, 2004

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to protective clothings but more particularly to a suit offering versatility by being wearable as a simple lightweight rainsuit as well as being usable as a flotation device especially useful for fishermen or even hunters.
2. Background of the Invention
Several waterproof suits or rain suits have been invented over the years and they can roughly be divided in two categories: Waterproof suits used to protect against rain or against any types of environment where water sprinkling occurs and waterborne suits for immersion such as emergency suits used as flotation device by use of inflatable bladders.
The prior art shows U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,314 by Moses which discloses a body suit liner removably attachable to an outer body suit. Glove liners are removably attachable to outer gloves. Foot cover liners are removably attachable to outer foot covers. A hood liner is removably attachable to an outer hood. The outer gloves are removably attachable to distal ends of outer body suit sleeves. The outer glove can be attached to the outer body suit sleeve whether or not the glove liner has been attached to the outer glove. The outer foot covers are removably attachable to distal ends of outer body suit legs. The outer foot cover can be attached to the outer body suit leg whether or not the foot cover liner has been attached to the outer foot cover. The outer hood is removably attachable to the outer body suit. The outer hood can be attached to the outer body suit whether or not the hood liner has been attached to the outer hood. The body suit liner, glove liner, foot cover liner and hood liner are constructed of material which is insulative and absorbent. The outer body suit, outer glove, outer foot cover, and outer hood are constructed of lightweight, waterproof material. In this invention, the suit acts as when wearing two sets of suits as is commonly done in cold and wet climates, that is a user would wear a woolen sweater for example when it is cold and put on a waterproof suit on top of hio sweater when it rains and it is cold. Or, the user would forego the woolen sweater to put on the waterproof suit when it is warm but wet and wear nothing when it is hot and dry. Moses' inventions merely takes that arrangement and makes it more practical by having a liner that is configured to fit nicely within a waterproof outside shell and provides attachment means between the liner and the outside shell especially for the mittens and such. The liner sleeves are always inside the outer sleeves when both suits are worn and always work dependent from each other when worn simultaneously, that is when the liner is worn along with the outer body suit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,698 by Smith shows a one-piece rainsuit with a water-repellant outer covering. The rainsuit includes a pair of adjustable legs and a torso and arm covering. The arm and legs of the wearer are slid into the leg and arm openings and a zipper extending from the neck of the garment to the bottom of the left leg closes the garment. An additional zipper on the right leg, when open, enables quick insertion of the leg, after which the zipper can be closed. Draw strings around the waist and neck of the garment can be drawn tight for additional securement. Cooperating snaps on the cuffs and arms of the garment make the interior of the garment watertight. A face mask is attached to a hood of the garment by snaps and includes a valve arrangement permitting the user to inhale and upon exhaling, the warm breath is directed to the interior of the rainsuit to warm the same.
The drawback of these inventions is that because their gloves or mittens are snapped on or otherwise releasably attached to the rest of their sleeves, they cannot attain true watertightness. For heavy rainfall this can be adequate but for full immersion in a body of water, this can prove inadequate. Although watertight wrist rings are used for scuba diving dry suits, these devices are rather expensive. Hunters or woodsmen sometimes wish their could ford a river but if there is too much water or if they fall, water can penetrate certain areas of a suit that is not properly sealed. Because of that, they are limited to what they can do even in case of an emergency wherein fording a river is the only option.
There is therefore a need for an inexpensive, practical watertight suit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a first object of this invention to provide for a suit that is usable as a rainsuit.
It is a second object of this invention to provide for a suit that is usable as a waterproof immersion suit.
It is a third object of this invention to provide for a suit that is usable as a flotation device.
It is a fourth object to provide for a suit that is inexpensive and offers great versatility.
In order to do so, the present invention involves a suit using a thin lightweight waterproof fabric and a unique set of two pairs of sleeves with one pair offering an open end to expose the hands while the other pair of sleeves is terminated by integrated mittens, thus eliminating any infiltration of water at the wrists. For the legs, they are also sealed at the bottom, ending up somewhat like socks and being covered by tied up booties with soles. The leg part, though, is not new since many types of suits, including scuba diving dry suits make use of integrated socks with booties. The suit is itself a one piece jumpsuit with a sealed front zipper, an adjustable band around the waist and user inflatable bladders to provide floatability to the waterproof body suit. The band around the waist limits the spread of air being blown in so that most of the air stays at the upper part or trunk part of the body of the user.
Each of the pair of standard sleeves and pair of watertight sleeves operate independently from each other, they are distinct and separate. Watertight zippered accesses located at the bottom of the watertight sleeves, just above the mittens, allow a user to draw out the standard sleeves.
In one variant, the standard sleeves and the watertight sleeves are attached to a shoulder part of the waterproof body suit so as to present arms of a user two side-by-side paths to slide the arms into from that shoulder part.
In another variant, the standard sleeves and the watertight sleeves are arranged so that the two standard sleeves and watertight sleeves are attached to the shoulder part so that they are one inside the other, thus offering only one path for the arms but presenting a sealed zippered access opening along the length of the watertight sleeves so that the user can draw out the standard sleeve so as to bring out his bare hand.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 Front view of the waterproof body suit.
FIG. 2 Front view of the watertight sleeves rolled up so as to allow the standard sleeves to be exposed.
FIG. 3 Side view along line AA of FIG. 1 showing the two paths, one path for the standard sleeve and one path for the watertight sleeve as viewd from shoulder level.
FIG. 4 Side view close up of watertight zipper to access pant pockets.
FIG. 5 Perspective view of hand coming out of a sealed zippered access.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A waterproof body suit (10) is a one piece suit having an integrated hood (12) with a nose and mouth shield (14), a torso portion (16) defined at its bottom by a belt (18), legs portion (20), standard sleeves (22) and watertight sleeves (24) which terminate with integrated mittens (25). The term mittens (25) defined here for describing gloves as well, whether 5 finger gloves or 3 finger gloves or any other type.
The legs portion (20) terminates as integrated socks (not shown) that are covered with booties (26) preferably having soles (not shown). The booties (26) are secured to the legs portion (20) by lace or hook and pile or any such means. The leg portion (20), though, is not new since many types of suits, including scuba diving dry suits make use of integrated socks with booties (26). A watertight zipper (30) insures that water will not enter the waterproof suit (10) and a tight turtle neck (32) also insures reasonable watertight properties. The watertight zipper (30), besides being watertight, is otherwise used as a standard suit zipper to allow putting on and off the watertight suit (10), except that when shut, it seals the waterproof suit (10).
In one configuration, or variant, of the sleeves (22, 24), that is the standard sleeves (22) and the watertight sleeves (24), they are attached to a shoulder part (11) of the waterproof body suit (10) so as to present the arms (not shown) of the user (9) two side-by-side paths to slide his arms (not shown) into at the shoulder part (11).
In another configuration, or variant, the sleeves (22, 24) are arranged so that the two pairs of sleeves (22, 24) are attached to the shoulder part (11) so that they are one inside the other, thus showing only one path to the arms (not shown) and look much like the standard sleeves (22) acting as the interior liner to the watertight sleeves (24) that are on the outside.
In either configurations, the result is the same, there are two pairs of sleeves, that is the standard sleeves (22) and the watertight sleeves (24), and they perform the same functions but it is within the scope of this invention to have two such obvious variants. It is important to note that, unlike Moses who has sleeves that operate one within the other, in this instant invention, the sleeves (22, 24) operate independently from one another, that is the standard sleeves are not limited to being within the watertight sleeves, they can be drawn outside in one variation or are in fact always separate from each other in the other variant.
In a first variant, shown in FIG. 1, wherein the sleeves (22, 24) are next to each other, the user (9), needs to either draw his arms (not shown) inside the waterproof body suit (10) so as to remove his arms (not shown) from one set of sleeves (22 or 24) and introduce them in the other set of sleeves (24 or 22), or more likely, make a choice before fully suiting-up according to the situation being presented. In this variant, when a set of sleeves (either 22 or 24) is not in used, it can be rolled up or even fully drawn into the inside of the waterproof body suit (10). For example, the watertight sleeves (24) can be tucked inside, since water is not an issue because the user (9) is currently using the standard sleeves (22) with his bare hands (15) exposed. However, when in immersion and the watertight sleeves (24) are used, the standard sleeves (22) cannot be tucked inside the waterproof body suit (10) since water would obviously enter into the standard sleeves (22). In this situation, the standard sleeves (22) are rolled up, as per FIG. 2, and tied by tying means so that no water can enter.
In a second variant, shown in FIG. 2, wherein the standard sleeves (22) are usually inside the watertight sleeves (24), in order to put his hands (15) outside, the user (9) opens sealed zippers (36), (at least one per watertight sleeve (24)), preferably located at the bottom of the watertight sleeves (24), just above the mittens (25), to allow a user to draw out the standard sleeves (22) and take his hands (15) out. The material selected for the waterproof suit (10) is a thin material which allows enough dexterity to the hands (15) even if they are inside the integrated mittens (25) to operate the sealed zippers (36). The watertight sleeves (24) can then be rolled up or otherwise pulled up so that the standard sleeves (22) are mostly exposed. The watertight sleeves (24) can be tied up proximal the shoulder part (11) using tying means (17). Alternatively, the sealed zipper (36) can be located proximal the shoulder part (11) but this requires the user to bend his arms (not shown) so that it can reach the sealed zippers (36).
The waterproof suit (10) is by no means a diving suit and is mostly for use in water from the neck down. The inflatability of the suit (10) insures that the neck always remains above the waterline. Inflating the suit (10) is accomplished by means well known in the art, generally blowing into a short tube and inflating one or more bladders. Besides the belt (18), other tying means (34) situated approximately at knee height and at the wrist help control the flow of air so that when inflating the suit (10), air won't reach the hands (15), so that dexterity can be maintained by not having that part inflate. Tying means (34) can be laces, drawstrings elastic bands, hook and pile and other such means.
Other features of the waterproof suit (10) include other sealed zippers (36) at various locations so that the user (9) can access pant pockets (19) (see FIG. 3).
As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A waterproof body suit having a torso portion defined at its bottom by a belt, legs portion terminating as integrated socks, a watertight front zipper to seal said waterproof suit, and further comprising:

a pair of standard sleeves and a pair of watertight sleeves;

each of said pair of standard sleeves and pair of watertight sleeves operating independently from each other;

watertight zippered accesses situated at various locations on said waterproof body suit.

2. A waterproof body suit as in claim 1 wherein:

said watertight sleeves terminating with integrated mittens.

3. A waterproof body suit as in claim 1 wherein:

watertight zippered accesses are located at the bottom of said watertight sleeves, just above said integrated mittens, to allow a user to draw out said standard sleeves.

4. A waterproof body suit as in claim 1 wherein:

said standard sleeves and said watertight sleeves are attached to a shoulder part of said waterproof body suit so as to present arms of a user two side -by-side paths to slide said arms into at said shoulder part.

5. A waterproof body suit as in claim 1 wherein:

said standard sleeves and said watertight sleeves are arranged so that the two said standard sleeves and said watertight sleeves are attached to a shoulder part so that they are one inside the other

6. A waterproof body suit as in claim 4 having the following method of use:

a user removes his arms from one set of sleeves and introduce them to the other set of sleeves;

watertight sleeves are rolled up or drawn inside of said waterproof body suit;

standard sleeves are rolled up and tied by tying means so that no water can enter.

7. A waterproof body suit as in claim 5 having the following method of use:

in order to put hands outside, a user opens sealed zippers and takes said hands out;

said watertight sleeves can then be rolled up or otherwise pulled up so that said standard sleeves are exposed;

said watertight sleeves being tied up proximal said shoulder part using tying means.