Friction-sealed water immersion suit

Abstract

A friction-sealed water immersion suit is described having a suit body with a neck opening, arm openings, leg openings and an entry opening. The entry opening defines an upper section and a lower section. A friction-sealed coupling is provided at the entry opening for coupling the upper section and the lower section of the suit body. The friction-sealed coupling includes a flap on one of the upper section or the lower section made of an elastomeric material and an inner flap and an outer flap on the other of the upper section or the lower section made of an elastomeric material. The friction-sealed coupling being engaged by interleaving the flap with the inner flap and the outer flap.

Claims

1. A friction-sealed water immersion suit comprising: a suit body having a neck opening, arm openings, leg openings and an entry opening, and the entry opening defining an upper section and a lower section; and the entry opening being sealed by friction by a friction-sealed coupling at the entry opening for coupling the upper section and the lower section of the suit body, the friction-sealed coupling using an interleaved engagement comprising an interleaving flap on one of the upper section or the lower section and an inner flap and an outer flap on the other of the upper section or the lower section; each of the interleaving flap, the inner flap and the outer flap being made of an elastomeric material, the friction-sealed coupling being engaged by interleaving the interleaving flap with the inner flap and the outer flap to create an outer seal between the interleaving flap and the outer flap, and an inner seal between the interleaving flap and the inner flap, the elastomeric material being a foam material that has exposed pores to create a high friction surface between an actual surface contact area of the interleaved engagement, and a circumference of a bottom edge of the outer flap being smaller than a circumference of a bottom edge of the inner flap.

2. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein the suit body is a one piece body with the upper section and the lower section being connected.

3. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein the suit body is a two piece body with the upper section and the lower section being separable.

4. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein said elastomeric material comprises a closed-cell foam.

5. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 4, wherein said closed-cell foam comprises an exposed closed-cell neoprene.

6. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein said suit body includes at least one of a hood attached at the neck opening, gloves attached at the arm openings or boots attached at the leg openings.

7. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 6, wherein said hood, said gloves or said boots are removably attached.

8. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 6, wherein seals are positioned at the neck opening, the arm openings, and the leg openings comprising: a double layer of elastomeric material defining an inner sleeve and an outer sleeve; the inner sleeve providing a high-friction surface configured to contact skin of a user to provide a water tight seal; the outer sleeve providing mechanical support and thermal insulation to the inner sleeve, the outer sleeve being perforated with holes in an intermediate position along an engagement interface with the inner sleeve to provide water drainage for water migrating along the engagement interface so water exits without ballooning open the engagement interface and compromising the water tight seal.

9. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 8, wherein said inner sleeve comprises one of silicone, latex, EPDM, NBR, natural rubber, or neoprene.

10. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein a static coefficient of friction between the interleaving flap with the inner flap and the outer flap is not less than 1.5.

11. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 10, wherein the static coefficient of friction between said interleaving flap, inner flap and outer flap is greater than 2.0.

12. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein the actual surface contact area between the interleaving flap and the inner flap, and the interleaving flap and the outer flap, is larger than a geometric surface area.

13. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein a length of the interleaved engagement between the interleaving flap, the inner flap and the outer flap is at least 3 cm.

14. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein the length of the interleaved engagement between the interleaving flap, the inner flap and the outer flap is between 15 cm and 30 cm.

15. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein the suit body has panels connected by seams having a wavy sinusoidal seam pattern to improve stretch and reduce water intrusion via seam tear, and said wavy sinusoidal seam pattern, when the suit body is stretched, will elongate by at least 110% between two points along a linear line through a center of said wavy sinusoidal seam pattern, such that the seams having a wavy sinusoidal seam pattern are not stressed unless the suit body is stretched more than 110%.

16. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein the suit body has panels connected by seams with seam junctions and one of a triangular three-point shaped patch or a four-point shaped patch is positioned at the seam junctions with each seam extending from one point of the three-point shaped patch or the four-point shaped patch to reduce stress-loading.

17. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein where the upper section and the lower section of said suit body both comprise neoprene.

18. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein the upper section of said suit body comprises a waterproof nylon shell material and the lower section comprises neoprene.

19. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein the lower section of said suit body comprises a waterproof nylon shell material and the upper section comprises neoprene.

20. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein the body suit comprises arm sleeves and leg sleeves, wherein one of the arm sleeves or the leg sleeves are removable.

21. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein the interleaving flap is on the lower section with the inner flap and the outer flap positioned on the upper section.

22. The friction-sealed water immersion suit of claim 1, wherein the outer flap is perforated with holes in an intermediate position along an engagement interface where the outer flap engages the interleaving flap to form the outer seal, the holes providing water drainage for water migrating along the engagement interface so water exits without ballooning open the engagement interface and compromising the outer seal.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a Friction-sealed water immersion suit.

(3) FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the Friction-sealed water immersion suit of FIG. 1 with attached hood.

(4) FIG. 3 is an exploded front elevation view of the Friction-sealed water immersion suit of FIG. 1 showing an upper piece and a lower piece separated.

(5) FIG. 4Perspective view of user wearing lower suit section with the lower torso flap folded down

(6) FIG. 5Perspective view of user wearing suit lower section and upper section, with the lower torso flap folded down, the inner upper torso flap folded down and the upper outer torso flap folded up

(7) FIG. 6Perspective view of user wearing suit lower section and upper section, with the lower torso flap folded up over the inner upper torso flap and the upper outer torso flap folded up

(8) FIG. 7Perspective view of user wearing suit lower section and upper section, with the upper outer torso flap folded down over the lower torso flap

(9) FIG. 8Perspective view of the suit upper and lower sections showing the circumference of torso flaps and wrist and ankle cuffs

(10) FIG. 9Sectional view of the upper and lower torso flaps

(11) FIG. 10Sectional view of tapered upper and lower torso flaps

(12) FIG. 11Perspective view of wrist cuff

(13) FIG. 12Sectional view of wrist cuff

(14) FIG. 13Sectional view of ankle cuff

(15) FIG. 14Sectional view of neck cuff

(16) FIG. 15Sectional view of wrist cuff with glove

(17) FIG. 16Sectional view of ankle cuff with boot

(18) FIG. 17Sectional view of neck with attached hood

(19) FIG. 18Sectional view of neck cuff with removable hood

(20) FIG. 19Flat view of stretch seam.

(21) FIG. 20Flat view of a 3 point seam intersection with a triangular shaped reinforcement

(22) FIG. 21Flat view of a 3 point seam intersection with a triangular shaped reinforcement with concave sides

(23) FIG. 22Flat view of a 4 point seam intersection with a diamond shaped reinforcement with concave sides

(24) FIG. 23Front view of suit with one flap on upper section and one flap on lower section

(25) FIG. 24Front view of suit with upper section partially connected to lower section

(26) FIG. 25Hack view of suit with upper section partially connected to lower section

(27) FIG. 26Side view of suit with upper section partially connected to lower section

(28) FIG. 27Side view of suit with upper section partially connected to lower section, with upper section hinged forwards

(29) FIG. 28Front view of partial suit with short arm sleeves and short leg sleeves

(30) FIG. 29Sectional view of upper section connected to short arm sleeve

(31) FIG. 30Sectional view of lower section connected to short leg sleeve

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(32) FIG. 1 shows the front view of friction-sealed water immersion suit 11, with the upper outer torso flap 15 folded down over the lower body piece 14. Wavy stretch seam 35 is illustrated on upper body piece 13, and connected at seam junction 37 to seam 36 on suit panel 39. Friction-sealed water immersion suit 11 also shows outer wrist cuff 23 with diffuser openings 18, outer ankle cuff 25 and outer neck cuff 27.

(33) FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1, but shows the from view of friction-sealed water immersion suit 12 with attached hood 28. A front view of friction-sealed water immersion suit 11 with the upper body piece 13 and lower body piece 14 separated is shown in FIG. 3. This figure also now shows the lower torso Hap 17 and inner upper torso flap 16. Additionally, FIG. 3 shows diffuser openings 18 on the upper outer torso flap 15, outer wrist cuff 23 and outer ankle cuff 25.

(34) To don the friction-sealed water immersion suit 11, the user 10 would preferably don the lower body piece 14 first, and fold down the lower torso flap 17, as illustrated in FIG. 4. Then user 10 would don the upper body piece 13 and fold up upper outer torso flap 15, which scenario is shown in FIG. 5. Thereafter, user 10 would fold up lower torso flap 17 over upper inner torso flap 16, as illustrated in FIG. 6. Finally, user 10 would fold down upper torso flap 15 over the outer lower torso flop 17, forming a substantially watertight seal between upper body piece 13 and lower body piece 14, which configuration is shown in FIG. 7. Alternatively, the user could don the upper section of suit 11 first, and still interleaf the upper and lower suit sections as shown in FIG. 7. Also, in an alternate embodiment, the upper section of the suit could contain only one flap, and the lower section of the suit could contain an inner and outer flap, which flaps could be interleaved to provide a seal between the upper and lower suit sections.

(35) For further clarity, FIG. 8 depicts a perspective view of the suit upper section (or body piece) 13 and lower section (or body piece) 14, showing the circumference of torso flaps 15 and 16, inner and outer wrist cuffs 22 and 23 respectively, and inner and outer ankle cuffs 24 and 25 respectively.

(36) An aspect of the current invention is that the circumference of upper outer torso flap 15 is the same or smaller than the diameter of inner upper torso flap 16. This aspect ensures that there is some compression between torso flaps 15 and 16 when lower torso flap 17 is interleaved there between, thereby enhancing frictional forces between torso flap 17 and the outer side of upper torso flap 16 and the inner side of upper torso flap 15.

(37) FIG. 9 illustrates a sectional view of upper torso flap 13 and lower torso flap 14, where the lower torso flap 14 is interleaved between the upper outer torso flap 15 and upper inner torso flap 16. The length of the overlap between the upper torso flap 13 and lower torso flap 14 can vary from 3 cm to 50 cm, preferably from 15 cm to 30 cm, which length of overlap provides sufficient range for users of different heights, and which length creates sufficient friction between the exposed closed-cell contacting surfaces for sealing and prevented the upper and lower flaps from sliding and separating.

(38) Diffuser holes 18 are shown on the upper outer torso flap 15, which holes can be any shape, singular or multiple rows. The size and number of holes can vary depending on the application of the suit. For example, for wetsuits used in sports such as kite boarding, stand-up paddleboarding, wake boarding and windsurfing, the holes are preferably round, triangular or square, with an open area of about 5-30 cm2 per hole.

(39) FIG. 10 is similar to FIG. 9, hut showing the upper outer torso flap 15 now tapered, which taper is shown as 19. Similarly, the inner upper torso flap 16 is tapered, shown as 20. Also, the lower torso flap 17 is now shown as tapered, illustrated as 21. Such tapering provides a less bulky, more aesthetic look of the overlapped torso section.

(40) An enlarged perspective view of the outer wrist cuff 23 is shown in FIG. 11. Diffuser holes 18 are shown as triangular, although such holes can also be other shapes, such as round or square. FIG. 12 shows a sectional view of hand 33 with upper body piece 13 covering the user's wrist. Inner wrist cuff 22 is in intimate contact with the skin surface, and preferably slightly tapered, and compressed by outer wrist cuff 23, which cuff has the same, or preferably a smaller circumference than inner wrist cuff 22, thereby slightly compressing inner neck cuff 26 against the skin surface to create a substantially watertight seal. Diffuser holes 18 only perforate the outer wrist cuff 23, but not the inner wrist cuff 22.

(41) FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of foot 34 with the distal part of lower body piece 14 comprised of outer ankle cuff 25 and inner ankle cuff 24. Diffuser holes are shown as 18.

(42) FIG. 14 illustrates a sectional view of outer neck cuff 27 and inner neck cuff 26, with diffuser holes shown as 18. The circumference of outer neck cuff 27 is the same, or preferably a smaller circumference than inner neck cuff 26, thereby slightly compressing inner neck cuff 26 against the skin surface to create a substantially watertight seal.

(43) In one embodiment, it is advantageous for the user to also wear a glove, where such glove is preferably substantially watertight. Such embodiment is depicted in FIG. 15, which is similar to FIG. 12, but with the wrist cuff now frictionally holding and sealing to glove 30. To seal glove 30 to the user's wrist, glove 30 is interleaved at the wrist between outer wrist cuff 23 and inner wrist cuff 22. The circumference of outer wrist cuff 23 is preferably the same, or smaller, than the circumference of inner wrist cuff 22.

(44) In another embodiment, it is advantageous for the user to also wear boots, where such a boot is preferably substantially watertight. Such embodiment is depicted in FIG. 16, which is similar to FIG. 15, but with the ankle cuff now frictionally holding and sealing to boot 31. To seal boot 31 to the user's ankle, boot 31 is interleaved at the ankle between outer ankle cuff 25 and inner ankle cuff 24, with diffuser holes shown as 18. The circumference of outer ankle cuff 25 is preferably the same, or smaller, than the circumference of inner ankle cuff 24.

(45) In some cold water situations, it is advantageous for the user to wear a hood, where such embodiment is shown in FIG. 17, with hood 28 covering the user's head, and attaching to upper body piece 13.

(46) In some scenarios, it is also advantageous for the user to wear a removable hood, where such embodiment is shown in FIG. 18, with hood 29 covering the user's head, and attaching to upper body piece 13, and held in place by frictional forces induced by interleaving hood 29 at the neck between inner neck cuff 26 between outer neck cuff 27, and where the circumference of outer hood cuff 27 is the same, or preferably smaller, than the circumference of inner neck cuff 26.

(47) A key aspect in donning and doffing neoprene wetsuits is the strength and integrity of the seams holding together various suit panels, which panels are connected by adhesives and stitching, and are designed to be waterproof. High stress-loading at the seams can cause the scams to lose their waterproof property, and cause the glued areas to tear. Accordingly, one aspect of the current invention is to minimize such high stress-loading at the seams by connecting the various panels using curved seam pattern 39, as depicted in FIG. 19. Seam 35 has a sinusoidal shape, which shape, when stretched, will elongate by at least 110% of the distance between points A-A shown in FIG. 19.

(48) To further reduce the concentration of stress-loading at the seam junctions, such junctions, as shown in FIG. 20, can have triangular reinforcement patch 38 positioned at junction 37, thereby reducing stress-loading connecting suit panels 39. Alternatively, the triangular reinforcement patch can be shaped in a concave manner, as depicted in FIG. 21 as 38.

(49) FIG. 22 is similar to FIG. 21, but now shows a 4-point seam intersection. With respect to connecting separate upper and lower sections of the friction-sealed water immersion wetsuit, in an alternative embodiment, such connection between the upper section flop and the lower section flap, can be accomplished by frictional forces holding, and sealing, such suit sections, as depicted in FIG. 23. In this embodiment, suit flap 15 overlaps suit flap 17, where the circumference of flap 15 is the same, or preferably smaller, than suit flap 17, and where the contacting flap surfaces comprise a high friction exposed closed-cell surface.

(50) In yet a further embodiment, the friction-sealed water immersion wetsuit can be comprised of an upper section, and a lower section, where these sections are partially connected, or hinged, as shown in FIG. 24. The area of partial connection is shown as 40, and the non-connected part as 41. The length of the non-connected part 41 is at least 50% of the horizontal circumference of the suit at this point on the torso. The non-connected part 41 can be connected, and sealed, by interleafing the tipper and lower parts in a manner analogous to that depicted and described for FIG. 1.

(51) FIG. 25 shows the back side of suit 11 shown in FIG. 24. FIG. 26 is a side view of suit 11 with the upper section 13 partially connected to lower section 14. FIG. 27 is a similar view as FIG. 26, but now showing the upper section 13 hinged forwards.

(52) In another embodiment, friction-scaled water immersion suit 11 is comprised of separate arm and leg sleeves, illustrated by FIG. 28 which shows a front view of suit 11 with short arm sleeves 45, and short leg sleeves 46. Such embodiment provides the user with additional flexibility for wearing only part of suit 11, in, for example, warmer water. Short arm sleeves 45 and short leg sleeves 46 can be frictionally connected to the suit using a frictional holding and sealing approach as shown in FIG. 29 and FIG. 30.

(53) FIG. 29 shows a sectional view of upper section 13 connected to short arm sleeve 45, where arm sleeve 45 is interleaved, and frictionally held, between outer arm cuff 48 and inner arm cuff 47.

(54) FIG. 30 shows a sectional view of upper section 14 connected to short leg sleeve 46, where leg sleeve 46 is interleaved, and frictionally held, between outer leg cuff 50 and inner leg cuff 49.

(55) In this patent document, the word comprising is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article a does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.

(56) The scope of the claims should not be limited by the illustrated embodiments set forth as examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with a purposive construction of the claims in view of the description as a whole.