Snorkel with vertically adjustable head-strap

Abstract

An arching snorkel is disclosed that includes and arching breathing tube with a mouth-piece end and a breathing end. At the elbow-shaped hollow breathing tube mouth-piece adapter with a mouth-piece that rotates or swivels with respect to the arching breathing tube. The snorkel also includes a yoke-shaped bracket member coupled to a mid-section of the arching breathing tube with one or more apertures for holding a head-strap. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention the yoke-shaped bracket member is vertically adjustable along the mid-section of the arching breathing tube.

Claims

1. A snorkel comprising: a) an arching breathing tube with a mouth-piece end and a breathing port end; b) an elbow-shaped hollow breathing tube mouth-piece adapter attached to the mouth-piece end; c) a mouth-piece attached to the elbow-shaped hollow breathing tube mouth-piece adapter; and c) an adjustable bracket member coupled to a mid-section of the arching breathing tube, wherein the adjustable bracket member is vertically adjustable along the mid-section of the arching breathing tube.

2. The snorkel of claim 1, wherein the elbow-shaped hollow breathing tube mouth-piece adapter swivels with respect to the arching breathing tube.

3. The snorkel of claim 1, further comprising a head-strap that threads through one or more apertures on the adjustable bracket member.

4. A snorkel comprising: a) an arching breathing tube with a mouth-piece end and a breathing port end; b) an elbow-shaped hollow breathing tube mouth-piece adapter attached to the mouth-piece end, wherein the elbow-shaped hollow breathing tube mouth-piece adapter rotates or swivels with respect to the arching breathing tube; c) a mouth-piece attached to the elbow-shaped hollow breathing tube mouth-piece adapter; and d) a bracket member coupled to a mid-section of the arching breathing tube for holding a head-strap.

5. The snorkel of claim 4, wherein the bracket member includes a set of apertures to adjust a vertical position of the head-strap along the mid-section of the arching breathing tube.

6. The snorkel of claim 4, wherein the bracket member is vertically adjustable along the mid-section of the arching breathing tube.

7. A snorkel comprising: a) an arching breathing tube with a mouth-piece end and a breathing port end; b) an elbow-shaped hollow breathing tube mouth-piece adapter attached to the mouth-piece end, wherein the elbow-shaped hollow breathing tube mouth piece adapter rotates or swivels with respect to the arching breathing tube; c) a mouth-piece attached to the elbow-shaped hollow breathing tube mouth-piece adapter; and d) yoke-shaped bracket member coupled to a mid-section of the arching breathing tube with one or more apertures for holding a head-strap.

8. The snorkel of claim 4, wherein the bracket member is vertically adjustable along the mid-section of the arching breathing tube.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] FIGS. 1A-B show perspective views of a snorkel, in accordance with the embodiments of the invention.

[0011] FIGS. 2A-B show schematic representations of adjustment mechanisms for adjusting the vertical positions of one or more head-strap along a breathing tube of a snorkel, in accordance with the embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Referring to FIGS. 1A-B, a snorkel 100 of the present invention includes a hollow arching or curved breathing tube 101, hereafter arching breathing tube 101, with a mouth-piece end 109 and an opposed breathing port end. The arching breathing tube 101 is preferably made from plastic or other polymeric material that is flexible, rigid or semi-rigid. The arching breathing tube 101 can be made in parts that fit together or formed as a monolithic unit. The cross-section of the arching breathing tube 101 can be flattened, round, oval or have any number of different shapes or combinations of shapes.

[0013] Attached to a interior mid-section arching breathing tube 101 is a bracket member 107. The bracket member 107 has one or more apertures 108 for threading one or more head-straps 111 therethrough. The one or more head-straps 111 preferably have one or more clip members 113 for connecting ends of the one or more of the head-straps 111 together and/or for adjusting the lengths or sizes of the one or more head-straps 111. The bracket member 107 can have any suitable shape, but preferably is a yoke-shaped structure with a curved interior surface that contours to a portion of a user's head while wearing the snorkel 100. The bracket member 107 can be monolithic with the arching breathing tube 101 but is preferably formed as separate structure that is coupled to or attached to the mid-section 106 and 106 (FIGS. 2A-B) of arching breathing tube 101 through ratcheting clips and snaps, sliding tongue and groove structures and/or any other suitable mechanism. Regardless of the attachment mechanism used, the vertical position of the bracket member 107 along the mid-section arching breathing tube 101 is preferably adjustable, such as described below.

[0014] Attached to the mouth-piece end 109 of the arching or curved breathing tube 101 there is a elbow-shaped hollow breathing tube mouth-piece adapter 109, hereafter mouth-piece adapter. Attached to the mouth-piece adapter 103, there is a mouth-piece 105 for holding the snorkel 100 in a user's mouth when the snorkel is downed. The mouth-piece adapter 109 is preferably configured to swivel (swiveling mouth-piece) with respect to the arching breathing tube 101, as indicate by arrow 117 in FIG. 1A and shown in FIG. 1B. In operation the mouth-piece 105 can be rotated out of the way via the mouth-piece adapter 103, when the snorkel is not being used but remains fixed on a user's head.

[0015] As mentioned above, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the vertical position of the bracket member 107 along the mid-section arching breathing tube 101 is preferably adjustable. By adjusting the vertical position of the bracket member 107 along the mid-section arching breathing tube 101 the fit of the snorkel can be customized to suit the individual user.

[0016] Referring top FIG. 2A, in accordance with this embodiment an adjustment mechanism 200 includes a set of metered apertures 107 position along the mid-section 106 of the arching breathing tube 101. In operation, the one or more head-straps 111 can be physically threaded through one or more of the apertures 121, 121 and 121 to achieve the desired position of the head-strap.

[0017] Referring to FIG. 2B, in a alternative embodiment of the invention the adjustment mechanism 250 includes a bracket member 107 that couples to the mid-section 106 of the breathing tube 101 through the adjustment mechanism. The bracket member 107 that includes one or more apertures 123 to thread one or more head-straps therethrough, such as describe previously. In accordance with this embodiments of the invention the adjustment mechanism 250 includes, for example, ratcheting clips, snaps, slotted or notched features, and/or mated tongue and groove features that allows the bracket member 107 to be slidably adjusted up and down to fixed positions along the mid-section 106 portion of the snorkel breathing tube 101 and allows the bracket member be lock in to a selected position.

[0018] The present invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments incorporating details to facilitate the understanding of the principles of construction and operation of the invention. For example, the mouth-piece end 109 can be telescoping with respect to the arching breathing tube 101 to further allow the fit of the snorkel to be customized. As such, references herein to specific embodiments and details thereof are not intended to limit the scope of the claims appended hereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications can be made in the embodiments chosen for illustration without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.