Life vest marker

Abstract

A marker system including a sleeve including a slot, a board, at least one hole, an upper end and a lower end, the slot including an opening disposed on the upper end, the board configured to slide within the slot and through the opening, the at least one hole disposed on the lower end to allow entry of fluid into the slot to urge the board through the opening and exit of the fluid from the slot and the sleeve is configured to be secured to a life vest, wherein when the sleeve is disposed in a body of fluid with the opening faces upwardly, the board extends through the opening, serving as a marker to get attention of one or more users around the life vest and when the sleeve is disposed outside of the body of fluid.

Claims

1. A marker system comprising a sleeve comprising a slot, a board, at least one hole, an upper end and a lower end, said slot comprising an opening disposed on said upper end, said board configured to slide within said slot and through said opening, said at least one hole disposed on said lower end to allow entry of fluid into said slot to urge said board through said opening and exit of the fluid from said slot and said sleeve is configured to be secured to a life vest, wherein when said sleeve is disposed in a body of fluid with said opening faces upwardly, said board extends through said opening, serving as a marker to get attention of one or more users around the life vest and when said sleeve is disposed outside of the body of fluid, at least a portion of the fluid is drained through said at least one hole when said opening faces upwardly to prevent said marker system from taking on additional load due to the fluid and said sleeve comprises two covers configured to be removably coupled to form said slot with a latch system, a first of said two covers is configured to be removable from a second of said two covers to enable replacement of said board.

2. The marker system of claim 1, wherein said board comprises a material having a density of no more than about 240 kg/m.sup.3 (15 lb/ft.sup.3).

3. The marker system of claim 1, wherein said board comprises a slot and said sleeve comprises a retainer configured to be disposed within said slot of said board to prevent detachment of said board from said sleeve.

4. The marker system of claim 3, wherein said retainer is configured to be disposed substantially at said upper end and said slot is configured to span substantially the distance between said upper end and said lower end of said sleeve, enabling said board to slide a maximum distance substantially the distance between said upper end and said lower end of said sleeve.

5. The marker system of claim 1, wherein said latch system comprises a snap lock.

6. The marker system of claim 1, the minimum ratio of the area of said at least one hole and the volume of said board is about 0.000394 mm.sup.2 (0.01 in.sup.2) of said at least one hole/mm.sup.3 (in.sup.3) of the volume of said board or about of said at least one hole/of the volume of said board.

7. The marker system of claim 1, wherein said board comprises a thickness of no more than about 1.1 inches (27.94 mm).

8. A marker system comprising a sleeve comprising a slot, a board, at least one hole, an upper end and a lower end, said slot comprising an opening disposed on said upper end, said board configured to slide within said slot and through said opening, said at least one hole disposed on said lower end to allow entry of fluid into said slot to urge said board through said opening and exit of the fluid from said slot and said sleeve is configured to be secured to a life vest, wherein when said sleeve is disposed in a body of fluid with said opening faces upwardly, said board extends through said opening, serving as a marker to get attention of one or more users around the life vest and when said sleeve is disposed outside of the body of fluid, at least a portion of the fluid is drained through said at least one hole when said opening faces upwardly to prevent said marker system from taking on additional load due to the fluid and said board comprises a slot and said sleeve comprises a retainer configured to be disposed within said slot of said board to prevent detachment of said board from said sleeve, said retainer is configured to be disposed substantially at said upper end and said slot is configured to span substantially the distance between said upper end and said lower end of said sleeve, enabling said board to slide a maximum distance substantially the distance between said upper end and said lower end of said sleeve.

9. The marker system of claim 8, wherein said board comprises a material having a density of no more than about 0.000394 mm.sup.2 (0.01 in.sup.2) of said at least one hole/mm.sup.3 (in.sup.3) of the volume of said board.

10. The marker system of claim 8, wherein said sleeve comprises two covers configured to be removably coupled to form said slot with a latch system, a first of said two covers is configured to be removable from a second of said two covers to enable replacement of said board.

11. The marker system of claim 10, wherein said latch system comprises a snap lock.

12. The marker system of claim 8, the minimum ratio of the area of said at least one hole and the volume of said board is about 0.000394 mm.sup.2 (0.01 in.sup.2) of said at least one hole/mm.sup.3 (in.sup.3) of the volume of said board.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In order that the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and objects of the invention are obtained, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a top front perspective view of a life vest equipped with a marker system.

(3) FIG. 2 is a top right rear perspective view of a life vest equipped with a marker system.

(4) FIG. 3 is a top left rear perspective view of a life vest equipped with a marker system.

(5) FIG. 4 is a bottom left rear perspective view of a life vest equipped with a marker system.

(6) FIG. 5 is a rear view of a life vest equipped with a marker system.

(7) FIG. 6 is a left view of a life vest equipped with a marker system.

(8) FIG. 7 is a right view of a life vest equipped with a marker system.

(9) FIG. 8 is a close-up view of a snap-lock disposed in a locked state.

(10) FIG. 9 is a close-up view of a snap-lock disposed in an unlocked state.

(11) FIG. 10 is a top left rear perspective view of a life vest equipped with a marker system where the front cover is removed to reveal a marker of the marker system, depicting the marker in its at rest position.

(12) FIG. 11 is a top left rear perspective view of a life vest equipped with a marker system where the front cover is removed to reveal a marker of the marker system, depicting the marker in its erected position.

(13) FIG. 12 is a top left rear perspective view of a life vest equipped with a marker system where the front cover and the marker are removed to reveal the rear cover of the marker system.

(14) FIG. 13 is a side view of a life vest equipped with a marker system where its marker is disposed in an erected position.

(15) FIG. 14 is a front view of a life vest equipped with a marker system where its marker is disposed in an erected position.

(16) FIG. 15 is a top left front perspective view of a life vest equipped with a marker system where its marker is disposed in an erected position.

(17) FIG. 16 is a top right rear perspective view of a life vest equipped with a marker system where its marker is disposed in an erected position.

PARTS LIST

(18) 2—flag system or marker system 4—board or marker or flag 6—case 8—front cover 10—rear cover 12—snap lock 14—snap 16—slot for receiving snap 18—life vest 20—hole 22—pin or retainer 24—slot 26—upper end of rear cover 28—lower end of rear cover 30—strap belt 32—buckle 34—top edge of life vest 36—distance between top edge of life vest and top edge of board 38—user 40—upper end of sleeve 42—lower end of sleeve 44—body of water 46—tab 48—thickness of board 50—thickness of marker system 52—markings 54—surface

PARTICULAR ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

(19) The present marker system enables the flag to be replaced to suit an application the marker system is utilized. Therefore, the sleeve can be used even if the patterns or markings or color/s of the board are required to be altered.

(20) The present marker system is non-intrusive and does not alter the benefits provided by a life jacket to which the present marker system is attached or a life jacket the present marker system is a part of. For instance, during use and while not disposed in water, the present marker system does not change the manner a user will lean in water due to the life jacket of the user. In one aspect, a life vest, when worn properly, shall keep the user's head out of water. The present marker system is non-intrusive as the flag extends upwardly on the back of a life vest and the portion of the flag that extends outside of its sleeve does not interfere with its user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(21) The term “about” is used herein to mean approximately, roughly, around, or in the region of. When the term “about” is used in conjunction with a numerical range, it modifies that range by extending the boundaries above and below the numerical values set forth. In general, the term “about” is used herein to modify a numerical value above and below the stated value by a variance of 20 percent up or down (higher or lower). The term “user” is used herein to mean a “wearer” of a life vest or life jacket with or without a marker system attached thereon. The term “flag” is used interchangeably with the term “marker” to mean an attention-getting object that is capable to be visually distinguished from its environment by an observer, e.g., by using a contrasting color and patterns, etc.

(22) FIG. 1 is a top front perspective view of a life vest 18 equipped with a marker system 2. FIG. 2 is a top right rear perspective view of a life vest 18 equipped with a marker system 2. FIG. 3 is a top left rear perspective view of a life vest 18 equipped with a marker system 2. FIG. 4 is a bottom left rear perspective view of a life vest 18 equipped with a marker system 2. FIG. 5 is a rear view of a life vest equipped with a marker system 2. FIG. 6 is a left view of a life vest 18 equipped with a marker system 2. FIG. 7 is a right view of a life vest 18 equipped with a marker system 2. The marker system 2 includes a sleeve 6, a board 4, a plurality of holes 20, an upper end 40 and a lower end 42. The sleeve 6 includes a slot. The slot includes an opening disposed on the upper end 40 of the marker system 2. The board 4 is configured to slide within the slot and through the opening. The holes 20 are disposed on the lower end 42 of the marker system 2 to allow entry of fluid into the slot to urge the board 4 through the opening and exit of the fluid from the slot. The sleeve 6 is configured to be secured to a life vest 18, wherein when the sleeve 6 is disposed in a body of fluid with the opening faces upwardly, the board 4 extends through the opening, serving as a marker to get attention of one or more users around the life vest 18 and when the sleeve 6 is disposed outside of the body of fluid, at least a portion of the fluid entered through the opening and the holes 20, is drained through the holes 20 when the opening faces upwardly to prevent the marker system 2 from taking on additional load due to the fluid. In one embodiment, the minimum ratio of the area of the holes 20 and the volume of the board 4 is about 0.000394 mm.sup.2 of the at least one hole/mm.sup.3 of the volume of the board or about 0.01 in.sup.2 of the at least one hole/in.sup.3 of the volume of the board to ensure that the board 4 is raised immediately as soon as the marker system 2 becomes disposed in a body of water. In one embodiment, the thickness 50 of the marker system 2 is no more than about 1.75 inches or 44.45 mm to ensure that the present marker system 2 does not significantly alter the manner in which the life vest 18 to which it is attached, is used. To achieve this and in one embodiment, the thickness 48 of the board 4 is about 0.5-1.1 inches or about 12.7-27.94 mm. Referring to FIG. 5, it shall be noted that, at rest and while not erected, the board 4 stays well below the top edge 34 of the life vest 18, ruling out any interference that the board 4 may have with a user's head when the board 4 is not erected. Note the distance 36 between the top edge 34 of the life vest 18 and the top edge of the board 4. Various markings 52 may be disposed on the front cover 8 for advertising and other commercial or instructional purposes. It is also possible to dispose markings on surface 54, i.e., the front face of the board 4 to make it more obvious to those around the marker system 2.

(23) An exemplary life vest 18 suitable for use with the present marker system 2 is a vest as shown throughout the figures where the vest is generally made of a flotation-capable material, e.g., polystyrene foam, etc., which when disposed on the upper torso of a human, is capable of providing flotation to the human to cause his or her head to be disposed above the body of water the human is immersed in. The jacket 18 may be secured frontally by way of a zipper before strap belts 30 and buckles 32 are used to secure the jacket 18 onto a user.

(24) FIG. 8 is a close-up view of a snap-lock 12 disposed in a locked state. FIG. 9 is a close-up view of a snap-lock 12 disposed in an unlocked state. FIG. 10 is a top left rear perspective view of a life vest equipped with a marker system 2 where the front cover is removed to reveal a marker of the marker system 2, depicting the marker 4 in its at rest position. FIG. 11 is a top left rear perspective view of a life vest 18 equipped with a marker system 2 where the front cover is removed to reveal a marker of the marker system 2, depicting the marker 4 in its erected position. FIG. 12 is a top left rear perspective view of a life vest equipped with a marker system 2 where the front cover 8 and the marker 4 are removed to reveal the rear cover 10 of the marker system 2. The sleeve 6 includes two covers configured to be removably coupled to form the slot with a latch system, a first 8 of the two covers is configured to be removable from a second 10 of the two covers to enable replacement of the board 4. A sold material having a density of no more than about 240 kg/m3 or 15 lb/ft3 has been found to be suitable for providing flotation to the board 4 such that it can be erected, i.e., with the board 4 sliding outwardly through the opening of the sleeve 6 when the marker system 2 is disposed in a body of water. In one embodiment, the latch system includes two pairs of snap locks 12, i.e., an upper pair and a lower pair to facilitate any replacement of the board 4. The board 4 includes a slot 24 disposed substantially in the lengthwise direction of the board 4 and the sleeve 6 includes a retainer 22 configured to be disposed within the slot 24 of the board 4 to prevent detachment of the board 4 from the sleeve 6. The present marker system 2 can function without the slot-retainer mechanism. However, this mechanism is useful for ensuring that the board 4 does not get accidentally removed during use or removed and misplaced while not in use. Referring again to FIG. 10, the retainer 22 is preferably disposed substantially at the upper end 40 of the sleeve 6 and the slot 24 is configured to span substantially the distance between the upper end 40 and the lower end 42 of the sleeve 6, enabling the board to slide a maximum distance substantially the distance between the upper end 40 and the lower end 42 of the sleeve 6. In one embodiment, the retainer 22 is disposed at the upper end 26 of the rear cover. In one embodiment, the retainer 22 may alternatively be disposed at the upper end of the front cover such that a removal of the front cover 8 automatically removes the retainer 22, making it even easier to remove and replace the board 4. It shall be noted that the slot 24 spans substantially the height of the board 4 or a distance from the lower end 28 of the rear cover 10 to the upper end 26 of the rear cover 10, allowing the board 4 to slide a large distance, making it possible for the board 4 visible to passer-bys and those around the user of the marker system 2. In freeing the board 4 for removal, the snap locks 12 are preferably acted upon in pairs although each snap lock 12 may be acted upon singly. In other words, the upper tabs 46 of the upper pair of snap locks 12 should be manipulated or slightly bent with a hand to release their respective slots 16 from their respective snaps 14 before the lower tabs 46 of the lower pair of snap lock 12 are manipulated in a similar fashion to release their respective slots 16 from their respective snaps 14 to completely detach the rear cover 10 from the front cover 8. Referring to FIG. 12, it shall be noted that rear cover 10 may be secured to the life vest 18 by stitching.

(25) FIG. 13 is a side view of a life vest 18 equipped with a marker system 2 where its marker 4 is disposed in an erected position. The wearer 38 of a life vest 18 equipped with a marker system 2 is shown in an orientation normally dictated by the use of a life vest with the wearer's head maintained above the body of water 44. It shall be noted that the wearer's orientation has not been negatively impacted by the use of the marker system 2 even when the board 4 has been significantly erected to a state capable of catching the attention of a passer-by. FIG. 14 is a front view of a life vest 18 equipped with a marker system 2 where its marker is disposed in an erected position. FIG. 15 is a top left front perspective view of a life vest 18 equipped with a marker system 2 where its marker is disposed in an erected position. FIG. 16 is a top right rear perspective view of a life vest 18 equipped with a marker system 2 where its marker is disposed in an erected position.

(26) The detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that show, by way of illustration, specific aspects and embodiments in which the present disclosed embodiments may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice aspects of the present invention. Other embodiments may be utilized, and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosed embodiments. The various embodiments can be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments. The detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims, with the full scope of equivalents to which they may be entitled. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement that is calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of embodiments of the present invention. It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive, and that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Combinations of the above embodiments and other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon studying the above description. The scope of the present disclosed embodiments includes any other applications in which embodiments of the above structures and fabrication methods are used. The scope of the embodiments should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.