BREATHABLE MASK FOR SNORKELING AND BREATHING TUBE THEREOF

Abstract

A breathable mask for snorkeling, including a body and a breathing tube connected with the body and including a tube body, is provided. The tube body has an upper end portion and a lower end portion opposite to the lower end portion, and further has an interior being longitudinally partitioned into an intake conduit and an exhaust conduit. The tube body is connected to the body through the lower end portion so that the breathing tube is suitably in fluid communication with an interior of the body. The upper end portion has an air inlet for inhaled air entering therethrough and flowing along the intake conduit to the lower end portion. An exhaust one-way valve is provided between the upper end portion and the lower end portion for exhaled air flowing into the exhaust conduit from the lower end portion and to be discharged outwards through the exhaust one-way valve.

Claims

1. A breathing tube for snorkeling, comprising: a tube body having an upper end portion and a lower end portion opposite to the upper end portion, the tube body further having an interior formed with an intake conduit and an exhaust conduit, wherein: the exhaust conduit and the intake conduit are longitudinally partitioned by a dividing wall; the upper end portion has an air inlet for inhaled air entering therethrough and flowing along the intake conduit to the lower end portion; and an exhaust one-way valve is provided between the upper end portion and the lower end portion for exhaled air flowing into the exhaust conduit from the lower end portion and to be discharged outwards through the exhaust one-way valve; and the dividing wall extends upward from the lower end portion and ends at a region above the exhaust one-way valve where the dividing wall is merged with a front sidewall or a rear sidewall of the tube body.

2. The breathing tube of claim 1, wherein the dividing wall is merged with the rear sidewall of the tube body, and the exhaust one-way valve is disposed in an opening of the rear sidewall of the tube body.

3. The breathing tube of claim 1, wherein the exhaust one-way valve is a mushroom valve.

4. The breathing tube of claim 1, wherein the lower end portion is connected to a body of a breathable mask so that the breathing tube is suitably in fluid communication with an interior of the body; and the body includes: a main frame; a lens embedded within the main frame; a waterproof skirt, at least part of the waterproof skirt being embedded with the main frame and the lens, the waterproof skirt being configured to suitably fit a face of a user; wherein the waterproof skirt has a partition to divide the interior of the body into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, when the user wears the breathable mask through a fastening device, the partition rests above a nose of the user, eyes of the user are accommodated in the upper chamber, and the nose of the user is accommodated in the lower chamber; an intake passage formed between the intake conduit and the lower chamber; and an exhaust passage formed between the exhaust conduit and the lower chamber, and the exhaust passage and the intake passage being independent of each other.

5. The breathing tube of claim 4, wherein the exhaust passage is formed by two exhaust tunnels each jointly defined by the waterproof skirt and an inner surface of the lens, and arranged along an outer periphery of the lens.

6. The breathing tube of claim 1 further comprising a button, the button is sheathed on the tube body, faces the exhaust one-way valve, and is spaced apart from the exhaust one-way valve, so that when the user actuates the button, the button is capable of preventing the exhaust one-way valve from opening, and when the user does not actuate the button, the exhaust one-way valve is capable of being opened as usual.

7. A breathable mask for snorkeling, comprising: a body; and a breathing tube connected with the body, the breathing tube including a tube body, the tube body having an upper end portion and a lower end portion opposite to the upper end portion, the tube body further having an interior formed with an intake conduit and an exhaust conduit, wherein: the exhaust conduit and the intake conduit are longitudinally partitioned by a dividing wall; the upper end portion has an air inlet for inhaled air entering therethrough and flowing along the intake conduit to the lower end portion; an exhaust one-way valve is provided between the upper end portion and the lower end portion for exhaled air flowing into the exhaust conduit from the lower end portion and to be discharged outwards through the exhaust one-way valve; the dividing wall extends upward from the lower end portion and ends at a region above the exhaust one-way valve where the dividing wall is merged with a front sidewall or a rear sidewall of the tube body; and the tube body is connected to the body through the lower end portion so that the breathing tube is suitably in fluid communication with an interior of the body.

8. The breathable mask of claim 7, wherein the dividing wall is merged with the rear sidewall of the tube body, and the exhaust one-way valve is disposed in an opening of the rear sidewall of the tube body.

9. The breathable mask of claim 7, wherein the exhaust one-way valve is a mushroom valve.

10. The breathable mask of claim 7, wherein the body comprises: a main frame; a lens embedded within the main frame; a waterproof skirt, at least part of the waterproof skirt being embedded with the main frame and the lens, the waterproof skirt being configured to suitably fit a face of a user; wherein the waterproof skirt has a partition to divide the interior of the body into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, when the user wears the breathable mask through a fastening device, the partition rests above a nose of the user, eyes of the user are accommodated in the upper chamber, and the nose of the user is accommodated in the lower chamber; an intake passage formed between the intake conduit and the lower chamber; and an exhaust passage formed between the exhaust conduit and the lower chamber, and the exhaust passage and the intake passage being independent of each other.

11. The breathable mask of claim 10, wherein the exhaust passage is formed by two exhaust tunnels each jointly defined by the waterproof skirt and an inner surface of the lens, and arranged along an outer periphery of the lens.

12. The breathable mask of claim 10, wherein the lower end portion is at least partially integrally extended from the lens.

13. The breathable mask of claim 7, wherein the breathing tube further comprises a button, and the button is sheathed on the tube body, faces the exhaust one-way valve, and is spaced apart from the exhaust one-way valve, so that when the user actuates the button, the button is capable of preventing the exhaust one-way valve from opening, and when the user does not actuate the button, the exhaust one-way valve is capable of being opened as usual.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a breathing tube for snorkeling according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a breathable mask for snorkeling according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the breathable mask is equipped with the breathing tube shown in FIG. 1.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a coronal cross-sectional view of the body of the breathable mask of FIG. 2.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a sagittal cross-sectional view of the breathable mask of FIG. 2.

[0023] FIG. 5 is a schematic view in which a button sheathed on the breathing tube of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0024] In the following description, the present invention will be explained with reference to various embodiments thereof. These embodiments of the present invention are not intended to limit the present invention to any specific environment, applications or particular method for implementations described in these embodiments. Therefore, the description of these embodiments is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the present invention. It shall be appreciated that, in the following embodiments and the attached drawings, elements not directly related to the present invention are omitted from the illustration, and dimensional proportions among individual elements in the accompanying drawings are provided only for ease of understanding but not to limit the actual scale of the present invention.

[0025] The first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1, which illustrates a breathing tube 1 for snorkeling. The breathing tube 1 includes a tube body 11. The tube body 11 has an upper end portion 11a and a lower end portion 11b opposite to the upper end portion 11a. The tube body 11 further has an interior which is longitudinally partitioned into an intake conduit 116 and an exhaust conduit 118. The upper end portion 11a has an air inlet 112 for inhaled air to enter therethrough and flow along the intake conduit 116 to the lower end portion 11b. An exhaust one-way valve 11e is provided between the upper end portion 11a and the lower end portion 11b for exhaled air flowing into the exhaust conduit 118 from the lower end portion 11b and to be discharged outwards through the exhaust one-way valve 11e.

[0026] In the tube body 11, the intake conduit 116 and the exhaust conduit 118 are partitioned by a dividing wall 11c, so that the exhaust conduit 116 and the intake conduit 118 are independent of each other. The dividing wall 11c extends upward from the lower end portion 11b and ends at a region above the exhaust one-way valve 11e where the dividing wall 11c is merged with a sidewall of the tube body. In addition, the exhaust one-way valve 11e is disposed in an opening of the sidewall of the tube body 11.

[0027] Preferably, the exhaust conduit 118 of the present invention is located in front of or in rear of the intake conduit 116. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the interior of the tube body 11 is longitudinally partitioned into the intake conduit 116 and the exhaust conduit 118 by the dividing wall 11c and in a front-to-rear arrangement. The exhaust conduit 118 is defined by the rear sidewall 11d of the tube body 11, parts of the left and right sidewalls and the dividing wall 11c. In this case, the dividing wall 11c extends upward from the lower end portion 11b, and then ends at a region above the exhaust one-way valve 11e where the dividing wall 11c is merged with the rear sidewall 11d. Therefore, the exhaust airflow of the present invention will run upward between the dividing wall 11c and the rear sidewall 11c of the tube body 11 and finally pass through the exhaust one-way valve 11e to the outside, and will not mix with the intake airflow at the upper end portion 11a of the tube body 11. In addition, the rear sidewall 11d has an opening 114 in which the exhaust one-way valve 11e can be disposed.

[0028] However, in other embodiments, the positions of the intake conduit 116 and the exhaust conduit 118 can be interchanged, and the exhaust one-way valve is disposed in the opening of the front sidewall of the tube body 11. Besides, in other embodiments, if the intake conduit 116 and the exhaust conduit 118 are longitudinally separated in a left-right arrangement, the exhaust one-way valve can be disposed in the opening of the left sidewall or the right sidewall of the tube body 11.

[0029] Accordingly, in the present invention, the intake conduit 116 and the exhaust conduit 118 of the breathing tube 1 are longitudinally separated from each other by the dividing wall 11c, i.e., one for intake and the other for exhaust, so that both conduits have large enough diameters and the intake and exhaust are balanced. As such, the problem of the conventional breathing tube that the diameters of one intake conduit and two exhaust conduits are not large enough or unbalanced can be solved.

[0030] The breathing tube 1 can be made of a rigid material, but not limited thereto. The rigid material selected from polycarbonate (PC), polyoxymethylene (POM), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Polyvinylchloride (PVC), Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP) or combinations thereof.

[0031] In this embodiment, the exhaust one-way valve 11e may be a mushroom valve, but not limited thereto. In addition, in other embodiments, a protective cover (not shown) including a plurality of guiding holes may be disposed above the exhaust one-way valve 11e. These guiding holes may be arranged in a mesh shape, a honeycomb shape, a grille shape or any combination thereof, so as to prevent seawater from easily splashing into the exhaust conduit 118 through the exhaust one-way valve 11 when the film of the exhaust one-way valve 11e is opened during snorkeling.

[0032] The second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a rear side view of a breathable mask 3 for snorkeling according to the present invention. The breathable mask 3 is equipped with the breathing tube 1 shown in FIG. 1. Specifically, the breathable mask 3 includes a body 13 and a breathing tube 1. The breathing tube 1 is connected with the body 13, as shown in FIG. 2 that the tube body 11 is connected to the body 13 through the lower end portion 11b so that the breathing tube 1 is suitably in fluid communication with an interior of the body 13.

[0033] Preferably, the body 13 includes a main frame 13a, a lens 13b, a waterproof skirt 13c, two intake one-way valves 13d and a drain valve 13e. The lens 13b is embedded within the main frame 13a. The waterproof skirt 13c is capable of suitably fitting on a user's face (not shown). The waterproof skirt 13c is at least partially embedded with the main frame 13a and the lens 13b, and has a partition 13c1. The partition 13c1 divides the interior of the body 13 into an upper chamber 202 and a lower chamber 204.

[0034] When the user wears the breathable mask 3 through a fastening device 15 (e.g., an elastic head strap), the partition 13c1 is seated on the user's nose, and the user's eyes are accommodated in the upper chamber 202. In addition, depending on the design of the lower chamber of the breathable mask, the waterproof skirt 13c can only cover the user's nose (only use the nose to inhale) or cover both the nose and mouth (can use the nose and/or mouth to inhale), so that the nose (or nose and mouth) is accommodated in the lower chamber 204, that is, at least the user's nose is accommodated in the lower chamber 204. In the breathable mask 3 shown in FIG. 3, both the user's nose and mouth are accommodated in the lower chamber 204.

[0035] In other words, the breathing tube of the present invention can be applied to various types of masks, such as conventional diving masks covering only the eyes and nose or even to conventional mouthpiece breathing tubes, etc. As long as the designs of the masks have a separate intake and exhaust flow, the intake and exhaust conduits combined in one breathing tube, and the one-way exhaust valve located on the tube body (not on the top portion), these masks are all feasible alternatives and all fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0036] In addition, in an embodiment, the lower end portion 11b is at least partially integrally extended from the lens 13b. Of course, it can also be integrally extended by other parts of the body 13, such as the main frame 13a. In other words, the so-called breathing tube 1 is not necessarily a concrete and independent tube body. Any element extending upward from the body 13 of the breathable mask 13 belongs to the breathing tube 1.

[0037] FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are referenced together to illustrate the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a coronal cross-sectional view of the body 13 of the breathable mask 3 of FIG. 2. In addition, FIG. 4 is a sagittal cross-sectional view of the breathable mask 3 shown in FIG. 2.

[0038] The body 13 has an intake passage (not shown) and an exhaust passage 206. The intake passage is formed between the intake conduit 116 and the lower chamber 204, and the exhaust passage 206 is formed between the exhaust conduit 118 and the lower chamber 204. The intake passage and the exhaust passage 206 are independent of each other. As it can be appreciated for the mechanism of the intake passage from the hollow airflow lines (showing the intake path) as illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the intake passage is not specifically referenced by a numeral in the drawings for clarity and simplicity.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 3, the exhaust passage 206 may be formed by two exhaust tunnels. Each exhaust tunnel is jointly defined by the waterproof skirt 13c and an inner surface of the lens 13b, and is arranged along an outer periphery of the lens 13b.

[0040] When the user inhales, fresh air enters the upper end portion 11a of the breathing tube 1 via the air inlet 112, then enters the upper chamber 202 of the body 13 of the breathable mask 3 along the intake conduit 116, and finally enters the lower chamber 204 through the intake one-way valves 13d for the user's nose and/or mouth to inhale (as shown by the hollow airflow lines in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4).

[0041] On the other hand, when the user exhales, the dirty air enters the exhaust passage 206 upward from the lower chamber 204, enters the exhaust conduit 118 from the lower end portion 11b of the breathing tube 1, hits the end of the dividing wall 11c, and consequently passes through the exhaust one-way valve 11e disposed in the opening 114 of the rear sidewall 11d the tube body 11 to be discharged outwards to the outside (as shown by the solid airflow lines in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4).

[0042] In addition, as can be seen from FIG. 4, the dividing wall 11c extends upward from the lower end portion 11b, ends at the position just past the exhaust one-way valve 11e, and then merges with the rear sidewall 11d of the tube body 11, whereby shortening the exhaust path as much as possible. However, in other embodiments, the end of the dividing wall 11c can continue to extend to the upper end portion 11a of the breathing tube 1 for a further distance and then merge with the sidewall, as long as the purpose of shortening the exhaust path can actually be achieved.

[0043] The fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the tube body 11 of the breathing tube 1 further includes a button 11f sheathed thereon, which faces the exhaust one-way valve 11e and is spaced apart from the exhaust one-way valve 11e so as not to interfere with the operation of the exhaust one-way valve 11e. When the user actuates the button 11f, the button 11f is capable of completely preventing the exhaust one-way valve 11e from opening, and when the user does not actuate the button 11f, the exhaust one-way valve 11e is capable of being opened as usual. Preferably, the material and shape of the button 11f are not limited, as long as it can provide the capability of flexible deformation and resilient recovery under the user's operation. When the user is snorkeling underwater and wants to drain the water accumulated in the lower chamber 204 through the drain valve 13e, he/she can first press the button 11f with his/her finger, so that the button 11f can be abutted against the exhaust one-way valve 11e to let exhaust one-way valve 11e not be opened, thereby temporarily blocking the communication between the exhaust conduit 118 and the outside. Meanwhile, the communication between the exhaust passage 206 and the outside is also temporarily blocked, and the lower chamber 204 forms an enclosed space, naturally increasing the exhalation pressure greatly. As a result, the user can more easily overcome the water pressure to drain water underwater without surfacing. This helps a lot to save the user's physical energy. If the design position of the drain valve 13e is facing the user's mouth as shown in FIG. 4, the above mentioned draining performance will be better. It should be noted, however, that the button 11f is provided in order to make the position of the exhaust one-way valve 11e more visible, to enhance the user's sense of sight and touch, and to guide the user's finger quickly to the correct position for closing the exhaust one-way valve 11e; on the other hand, it is also intended to make the closing of the exhaust one-way valve 11e easier and more complete by virtue of the larger covering area of the button 11f. In other words, the arrangement of the button 11f is not necessary, and the user can directly press the exhaust one-way valve 11e to close it with his/her finger and achieve the same effect.

[0044] In summary, the breathing tube of the present invention is further provided with an air outlet which is independent of the air inlet. The position of the air outlet is designed not to be too high in order to shorten the exhaust path, and when snorkeling, the position of the air outlet is close to the water surface, without the barrier of water pressure, making it easier to exhale. Furthermore, the position of the air outlet is also designed not to be too low in order to avoid the problem of noise and obstruction of the user's view caused by the air bubbles resulting from the exhaust.

[0045] In other words, the air outlet is arranged in the centre of the breathing tube body, which eliminates the need to consider the complex structure of combining the air outlet with the main frame of the mask or the top of the breathing tube (which requires an additional exhaust valve in the connection position). This results in a simple construction and low manufacturing costs. The air outlet is arranged in the centre of the breathing tube body, so the top of the breathing tube is only responsible for the intake function, and no longer for accommodating the exhaust mechanism. Therefore, the shape design of the top of the breathing tube can be more flexible, variable, and unlimited.

[0046] The above embodiments are used only to illustrate the implementations of the present invention and to explain the technical features of the present invention, and are not used to limit the scope of the present invention. Any modifications or equivalent arrangements that can be easily accomplished by people skilled in this art are considered falling within the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention should be limited by the claims of the patent application.