A flotation device that can include a multi-chamber flotation element having a first fluid chamber and a second fluid chamber. The flotation device can have a first valve in fluid communication with the active inflation chamber but not the passive inflation chamber and an opening in fluid communication with the passive inflation chamber but not the active air chamber. The active inflation chamber can be configured to be inflated through the first valve. The active inflation chamber can be configured to expand the passive inflation chamber from a collapsed state to an expanded state as the active inflation chamber is expanded by, for example and without limitation, permitting ambient air to enter the passive inflation chamber when a pressure within the passive inflation chamber is less than an ambient air pressure.

The life jacket has a harness designed to be fitted over the torso of an individual and having a dorsal structure and a ventral structure, at least ventral buoyancy tubes attached to the harness, and manual inflation means for inflating the ventral buoyancy tubes. The uninflated ventral buoyancy tubes are arranged in the dorsal structure of the harness and, when inflated, they are deployed in the ventral structure of the harness. The harness has a guide rope extending along its dorsal and ventral structures and the ventral buoyancy tubes are attached to the harness by a connector that can also be inflated and is designed to be deployed, under the action of the inflation means, by being guided along the guide rope. The life jacket is only deployed on the front of the abdomen in the event of difficulty.

A personal flotation device capable of providing buoyancy and preventing hypothermia and death caused by loss of body heat by supporting the individual's entire body out of the water. Special design features increase the ease of use to ensure successful deployment and boarding, even among injured, weak, and/or physically exhausted individuals. This personal flotation device is small and compact, so that it may be used in a prophylactic manner from low-risk to high-risk applications.

A personal aquatic safety system includes a device that monitors vital signs of the wearer. If one or more of the monitored vital signs falls outside predetermined acceptable parameters, the safety device will emit an alarm and send a wireless distress signal. The safety device may be integrated into a garment such as an inflatable vest and maybe programs to automatically inflate pockets in the vest when the safety device detects that the wearer is experiencing physical distress based on the readings of the vital sign monitor. The monitoring device may also include a deployable tracker that can be released from the safety device and sent to the surface of a body of water so that it may emit a visual and audio alarms, and sends a wireless distress signal.

A personal flotation device includes a burst zipper connected to a back panel, a left panel, and a right panel of a shell of the personal flotation device. The personal flotation device further includes an inflatable bladder sewn into a seam of the shell of the personal flotation device. The seam extends through one or more of a neck panel, the left panel, and the right panel of the shell. The personal flotation device further includes strap components connected between the back panel and the left panel and the right panel. The strap components are configured to secure the left panel and the right panel to the back panel.

An inflator including in combination an inflator body having at one end an input for receiving the neck of a gas cartridge, a manifold assembly intended to be fluidly connected to an inflatable, a combination automatic and manual actuator assembly including a spring-loaded actuator including a pierce pin for fracturing a frangible seal of the gas cartridge, a bobbin with a dissolvable pill that retains the spring-loaded actuator in a cocked position and a hood connected onto the end of the inflator body, said hood including an inwardly-extending tab that engages the actuator to securely retain the hood onto the end of the inflator body by means of the inwardly-extending tab being grasped by the forked end of the actuator.

The present invention relates to improved personal flotation devices and their methods of use. Advantageously, the devices and methods of the invention eliminate the need for a pyrotechnical firing mechanism, and compared to current devices, are less apt to be spontaneously activated by deterioration that is caused by storage in a humid environment or the passage of time. Instead, the devices and methods of use of the present invention incorporate electronic circuitry to activate automatic operation.

Disclosed is a pneumatic inflation valve assembly, having: a valve housing defining a valve cavity and including an axial proximate end and an axial distal end, the proximate end including an outlet from the valve cavity and the distal end including an inlet into the valve cavity, the proximate end includes a motion hole, the distal end includes a receiving volume; and a poppet is disposed in the valve cavity that includes an axial proximate stem extending through the motion hole, an axial distal stem is disposed in the receiving volume and is moveable within the valve cavity between an opened position and a closed position, when the poppet is at the opened position the distal stem extends further into the receiving volume than at the closed position, and the center body is axially spaced from the proximate end and the distal end of the valve housing.

Summary, the system is a 3D pop-up or pop-out survival system. The system sometimes involves a device that is worn on a person. The device potentially includes an activation button that, when pressed, releases an inflatable or memory spring pop-up/pop-out.

A personal flotation device and method are disclosed to provide improved visibility for a person wearing the device in the water. The device is composed of a complex inflatable manifold including an extension that, when inflated, projects above the water's surface. The extension may also include a light and may also include a flag.