RETAINING DEVICE FOR CONNECTING A SNORKEL AND A MASK

Abstract

The present invention provides a retaining device for connecting a mask and a snorkel. The mask has a head strap and a positioning ring, and the head strap freely passes through the positioning ring. The retaining device comprises a male fastening element and a female fastening element, which is connected to the male fastening element. The male fastening element is connected to one of the positioning ring and the snorkel, and the female fastening element is connected to the other. The user may assemble or separate the mask and the snorkel with the retaining device of the present invention, and there wouldn't be relative linear displacement between the mask and the snorkel in use due to buoyancy and gravity.

Claims

1. A retaining device for connecting a snorkel and a mask, the mask including a head strap and a positioning ring, the head strap freely passing through the positioning ring, the retaining device comprising: a male fastening element; and a female fastening element, being connected to the male fastening element; wherein the male fastening element is connected to one of the positioning ring and the snorkel, and the female fastening element is connected to the other thereof.

2. The retaining device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the positioning ring has a first insertion slot and a second insertion slot adjacent to it, the head strap has a close contact section and a tail section, the close contact section is close to a user's head and is tightly fitted into the first insertion slot, the tail section is away from the user's head and is tightly fitted into the second insertion slot.

3. The retaining device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the female fastening element has a hole and a positioning layer, the hole is penetrated through the positioning layer, and when the female fastening element is connected to the positioning ring, the positioning layer is arranged from the second insertion slot along the direction away from the user's head.

4. The retaining device as claimed in claim 3, wherein when the female fastening element is connected to the positioning ring, the female fastening element and the positioning ring are integrally formed.

5. The retaining device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the male fastening element has a head portion and a neck portion, and when the male fastening element is connected to the female fastening element, the head portion is located outside the hole, and the neck portion passes through the hole.

6. The retaining device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the hole has a fixing aperture, when a user wears the mask and contains a mouthpiece of the snorkel, and the male fastening element and the female fastening element are connected, a long side of the head portion is larger than the fixing aperture, and a diameter of the neck portion is smaller than the fixing aperture, so that the mask and the snorkel can be relatively rotated within an angle range of 10 degrees to 90 degrees, the angle range is defined by an angle between an axis of the snorkel and a longitudinal axis of the user's head.

7. The retaining device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the male fastening element and the female fastening element have a hardness between 60 Shore A and 90 Shore D.

8. The retaining device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the male fastening element and the female fastening element are selected from material consisting of Thermo-Plastic Rubber (TPR), Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU), Polyvinylchloride (PVC), Polycarbonate (PC), Polyoxymethylene (POM), Polypropylene (PP), Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), or a combination thereof.

9. The retaining device as claimed in claim 8, wherein one of the male fastening element and the female fastening element has a ring portion, and the ring portion at least partially surrounds the snorkel.

10. The retaining device as claimed in claim 8, wherein one of the male fastening element and the female fastening element is integrally formed with the snorkel.

11. A retaining device for connecting a snorkel and a mask, the mask including a head strap and at least one positioning ring, the head strap passing through the positioning ring, the positioning ring being used to secure and to prevent the head strap from further moving after a user well wears the mask, the snorkel comprising a tube body, a mouthpiece, and a ring portion, and the mouthpiece and the ring portion being connected to the tube body, the retaining device comprising: a male fastening element; and a female fastening element, being capable of coupling and decoupling from the male fastening element; wherein the male fastening element is disposed on the ring portion, and the female fastening element is disposed on the positioning ring.

12. A retaining device for connecting a snorkel and a mask, the mask including a head strap and at least one positioning ring, the head strap passing through the positioning ring, the positioning ring being used to secure and preventing the head strap from further moving after a user well wears the mask, the snorkel comprising a tube body, a mouthpiece, and a ring portion, and the mouthpiece and the ring portion being connected to the tube body, the retaining device comprising: a male fastening element; and a female fastening element, being capable of coupling and decoupling from the male fastening element; wherein the male fastening element is disposed on the positioning ring, and the female fastening element is disposed on the ring portion.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional retaining device connected to a snorkel and a mask;

[0015] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a retaining device connected to a mask according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 3A is an exploded schematic view of the retaining device connected to the positioning ring according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] FIG. 3B is an exploded schematic view of another view angle of the retaining device connected to the positioning ring according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] FIG. 3C is an assembled schematic view of the retaining device connected to the positioning ring according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] FIG. 4A is a schematic view of a user wearing a retaining device, a mask, and a snorkel according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] FIG. 4B is a side view of the user wearing a retaining device, a mask, and a snorkel according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] FIG. 5A is an exploded schematic view of the retaining device connected to the positioning ring according to another aspect of the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] FIG. 5B is an exploded schematic view of another view angle of the retaining device connected to the positioning ring according to another aspect of the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] FIG. 5C is a schematic view of a female fastening element of the retaining device connected to the positioning ring according to another aspect of the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] FIG. 6 is an exploded schematic view of the retaining device connected to the positioning ring according to yet another aspect of the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] FIG. 7 is an exploded schematic view of a retaining device connected to the positioning ring according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a user wearing a retaining device, a mask, and a snorkel according to a third embodiment of the present invention; and

[0027] FIG. 9 is an exploded schematic view of a retaining device connected to the positioning ring according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0028] Please refer to FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 together, which are respectively the schematic view of a retaining device 2 of the first embodiment of the present invention connected to a mask 3, the exploded and assembled schematic views of the retaining device 2, and a schematic view showing the user wearing the retaining device 2, the mask 3 and the snorkel 4 of the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 2, the mask 3 has a main body 31, a head strap 33, and two positioning rings 35 (only the positioning ring 35 on one side is shown in the figure), and the two ends of the head strap 33 are respectively connected to the two sides of the main body 31. The two ends then freely passes through the corresponding positioning rings 35. In more detail, please refer to FIGS. 3A to 3C at the same time. Each of the positioning rings 35 has a first insertion slot 351 and a second insertion slot 353 arranged in parallel and adjacent to each other. Each end of the head strap 33 has a close contact section 331 and a tail section 333. The close contact section 331 is close to and contacts the side of the user's head, and is tightly fitted and passed through the first insertion slot 351. The tail section 333 is far away from the user's head and is closely fitted and passed through the second insertion slot 353. That is, the head strap 33 is inserted into the first insertion slot 351 and the second insertion slot 353 in parallel in sequence. The positioning ring 35 is used to secure and to prevent the head strap 33 from further moving after a user well wears the mask. Therefore, the head strap 33 is arranged and fixed by the positioning ring 35 so that the two tail sections 333 of the head strap 33 would not be messy, drooping, or floating in the water. It should be noted that in other implementations, there can be only one positioning ring for securing and arranging one end of the head strap to fit different mask structures.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the snorkel 4 has a tube body 41, a mouthpiece 43, and a ventilation portion 45. The mouthpiece 43 and the ventilation portion 45 are located at two ends of the tube body 41, respectively.

[0031] The retaining device 2 is adapted to connect the mask 3 and the snorkel 4. More specifically, the retaining device 2 of this embodiment connects the positioning ring 35 of the mask 3 and the tube body 41 of the snorkel 4. As shown in the above figures, the retaining device 2 includes a male fastening element 21 and a female fastening element 23. The male fastening element 21 is connected to the female fastening element 23, the male fastening element 21 is disposed connected to the snorkel 4, and the female fastening element 23 is disposed on the positioning ring 35.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B and FIG. 3C, the male fastening element 21 has a ring portion 211, a head portion 213, and a neck portion 215. The ring portion 211 is in the shape of an arc with an opening, so as to be at least partially and detachably sleeved on the tube body 41 of the snorkel 4. The neck portion 215 is cylindrical, one end is connected to the ring portion 211, and the other end is connected to the head portion 213. The head portion 213 extends from the cylindrical top of the neck portion 215 in the direction perpendicular to the cylindrical axis, so that the head portion 213 and the neck portion 215 form a T-shape when viewed from the side. In other aspects, the shape of the side view can also be mushroom-shaped, hook-shaped, inverted cone-shaped, or other shapes whose head portion is larger than the neck portion.

[0033] The female fastening element 23 has a positioning layer 231 and a hole 233. The positioning layer 231 extends from the second insertion slot 353 of the positioning ring 35 in a direction away from the user's head and is integrally formed with the positioning ring 35. The hole 233 penetrates through the positioning layer 231. The hole 233 has a long and narrow shape and has a fixing aperture H on the narrow side. The long side of the head portion 213 of the male fastening element 21 is slightly smaller than the long side of the hole 233 of the female fastening element 23 and is larger than the fixing aperture H of the hole 233 of the female fastening element 23, and a diameter of the neck portion 215 of the male fastening element 21 is smaller than the fixing aperture H. Therefore, during the process of combining the male fastening element 21 and the female fastening element 23, the head portion 213 inserts along the long side of the hole 233 and passes through the hole 233, and then turns a small angle, the male fastening element 21 is connected to the female fastening element 23. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3C, the head portion 213 is located outside the hole 233, and the neck portion 215 passes through the hole 233.

[0034] As shown in the side view of FIG. 4B, when a user wears the mask 3 and contains a mouthpiece 43 of the snorkel 4, the male fastening element 21 and the female fastening element 23 are connected at this time. By the afore-mentioned relationship between the mask 3 and the snorkel 4, the mask 3 and the snorkel 4 may rotate relatively, and an angle range of this relative rotation is 10 degrees to 90 degrees. This angle range is defined by an included angle θ between an axis S of the snorkel 4 and a longitudinal axis of the user's head U. When the user wears the retaining device 2, the mask 3, and the snorkel 4, whether it is in the water or leaving the water, the rotation buffer provided by the male fastening element 21 and the female fastening element 23 may adjust the mask 3 and the snorkel 4 to the most suitable angle in use according to the change of gravity and buoyancy. The water would not enter from the ventilation part 45 due to the change of the angle in use of the snorkel 4. The user does not need to spend too much time adjusting the relative position of the mask 3 and the snorkel 4 to continuously use in a comfortable state.

[0035] In this embodiment, the female fastening element 23 and the positioning ring 35 are integrated into one single part, which makes the material management during manufacture and assembly easier. However, in other embodiments, the female fastening element and the positioning ring can also be two independent parts.

[0036] In order to provide a certain elasticity, the materials of the male fastening element 21 and the female fastening element 23 are selected from Thermo-Plastic Rubber (TPR), Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU), Polyvinylchloride (PVC), Polycarbonate (PC), Polyoxymethylene (POM), Polypropylene (PP), Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), or a combination thereof. The hardness ranges from 60 Shore A to 90 Shore D.

[0037] Therefore, the materials of the male fastening element 21 and the female fastening element 23 may be soft materials such as TPR, TPU, and PVC, composite materials of PP and TPR, or hard materials such as PC, POM, PP, TPE, and ABS. It should be noted that the materials of the male fastening element 212 and the female fastening element 23 can be two different materials or the same material.

[0038] Furthermore, the male fastening element 21 has a ring portion 211 as previously described. Because the ring portion 211 has an opening, it can be adapted to snorkels with different diameters or even with contours not completely matched with the ring portion 211. In this way, the retaining device can be further widely used in various snorkels and is convenient for users to disassemble and assemble. In other embodiments, the ring portion may have any other shapes, such as a closed ring, an open ring, a closed polygon, an open polygon, or the like, and the thickness thereof does not need to be uniform. In addition, the ring portion can be fixedly, detachably, or movably connected to the tube body of the snorkel in any way. For example, the ring portion may be selectively clamped at different heights of the tube body of the snorkel. That is, the ring portion may move up and down along the tube body of the snorkel and parallel to the axis of the snorkel, and it may adjustably slide and be buckled in position, thereby changing the relative height of the retaining device to meet the wearing requirements of different users.

[0039] In order to make the connection between the male fastening element and the female fastening element more reliable, FIG. 5A to FIG. 5C illustrate the retaining device 5 of another embodiment of the first embodiment. In this aspect, the mask (not shown) has a positioning ring 35′, and the positioning ring 35′ has a second insertion slot 353′. The retaining device 5 has a male fastening element 51 and a female fastening element 53, which are connected to each other. The difference between this aspect and the first embodiment is that the male fastening element 51 of this aspect has a ring portion 511, a head portion 513, a neck portion 515, and a concave 517. The head portion 513 and the neck portion 515 are mushroom-shaped when viewed from the side. The concave 517 is formed on the top of the head portion 513. The female fastening element 53 also has a positioning layer 531, a hole 533, and a convex 535. The positioning layer 531 has two side walls 5311 and a positioning wall 5313. One end of each of the two side walls 5311 is connected to the positioning ring 35′, and the other end is connected to the positioning wall 5313, and the hole 533 extends from one of the side walls 5311 to the positioning wall 5313. The portion of the hole 533 formed on the side wall 5311 is larger than the head portion 213′, and the portion of the hole 533 formed on the positioning wall 5313 is smaller than the head portion 513 and slightly larger than the neck portion 515. The convex 535 is formed on the surface of the second insertion slot 353′ adjacent to the positioning layer 531. The concave 517 and the convex 535 have corresponding shapes and have coinciding rotation axes. In this way, the head portion 513 and the neck portion 515 can be inserted from the part of the hole 533 formed on the side wall 5311 in a direction parallel to the surface of the positioning wall 5313, and be positioned to the part of the hole 533 formed on the positioning wall 5313. Then, the concave 517 and the convex 535 are engaged with each other, so that the male fastening element 51 and the female fastening element 53 will not slide and dislocate. Moreover, the mask and the snorkel can be relatively rotated. It should be noted that the positions of the concave and the convex in this embodiment can be reversed. That is, the convex is formed with the top of the head of the male fastening element, and the concave is formed on the surface of the second insertion slot adjacent to the positioning layer.

[0040] It should be noted that, although the male fastening element 21 of the first embodiment of the present invention is connected to the snorkel 4 through the ring portion 211, in other aspects, as shown in FIG. 6, the ring portion can also be omitted. That is, the male fastening element 61 of this aspect includes a head portion 611 and a neck portion 613. One end of the neck portion 613 is connected to the tube body 41 of the snorkel 4, and the other end is connected to the head portion 611. The other technical features of this embodiment are the same as the first embodiment. The male fastening element 61 is connected to the female fastening element 23, and the female fastening element 23 is connected to the positioning ring 35 of the mask (not shown in the figure). The above descriptions can be referred to for more details and would not be repeated. Since the male fastening element 61 of this aspect is integrally connected to the snorkel 4, additional scattered parts are directly omitted, and the storage and assembly are simpler.

[0041] The second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 7. The retaining device 7 includes a male fastening element 71 and a female fastening element 73, the male fastening element 71 is connected to the female fastening element 73. Different from the previous embodiment, the male fastening element 71 is connected to the positioning ring 35″ of the mask (not shown in the figure), and the female fastening element 71 is connected to the snorkel (not shown).

[0042] The male fastening element 71 has a base plate layer 711, a head portion 713, and a neck portion 715. The base plate layer 711 extends from the second insertion slot 353″ of the positioning ring 35″ in a direction away from the user's head and is integrally formed with the positioning ring 35″. The neck portion 715 is cylindrical, one end is connected to the base plate layer 711, and the other end is connected to the head portion 713. The head portion 713 extends from the cylindrical top of the neck portion 715 to the direction perpendicular to the cylindrical axis, so that the head portion 713 and the neck portion 715 form a T-shape when viewed from the side. In other aspects, the shape of the side view can also be mushroom-shaped, hook-shaped, inverted cone-shaped, and other shapes with the head portion larger than the neck portion. It should be noted that, in other embodiments, the base plate layer can also be omitted, so that one end of the neck portion is directly connected to the second insertion slot, and the other end is connected to the head portion.

[0043] The female fastening element 73 has a ring portion 731, a positioning layer 733, and a hole 735. The ring portion 731 is in the shape of an arc with an opening, so as to be at least partially and detachably sleeved on the tube body (not shown) of the snorkel. The positioning layer 733 is extended from the ring portion 731 in a direction toward the user's head. The hole 735 passes through the positioning layer 733 and has a long and narrow shape. The hole 735 has a fixing aperture H′ on the narrow side. The long side of the head portion 713 of the male fastening element 71 is slightly smaller than the long side of the hole 735 of the female fastening element 73 and is larger than the fixing aperture H′ of the hole 735 of the female fastening element 73.

[0044] The diameter of the neck portion 715 of the male fastening element 71 is smaller than the fixing aperture H′. Therefore, during the process of combining the male fastening element 71 and the female fastening element 73, the head portion 713 inserts along the long side of the hole 735 and passes through the hole 735, and then turns a small angle, the male fastening element 71 is then connected to the female fastening element 73. At this time, the head portion 713 is located outside the hole 735, and the neck portion 715 passes through the hole 735.

[0045] The technical features of this embodiment that are the same as those of the first embodiment would not be repeated here. Similarly, in this embodiment, the male fastening element 71 and the positioning ring 35″ are integrated into one single element, which makes the parts management during manufacture and assembly easier. However, in other embodiments, the male fastening element and the positioning ring can also be two separate parts.

[0046] In addition, in other implementations of this embodiment, the ring portion can also be omitted. That is, the female fastening element includes a positioning layer and a hole, and the positioning layer directly extends from the tube body of the snorkel toward the direction of the user's head. Thereby, the female fastening element is integrally connected to the snorkel, and additional scattered elements are directly omitted, and the storage and assembly are simpler. A person ordinarily skilled in the art of the present invention may deduce from the foregoing description to the actual practice, and the related description is omitted here.

[0047] It should be noted that the shape and position of the head portion and the neck portion of the male fastening element and the hole of the female fastening element of the present invention are not limited to those described in the above embodiments and aspects. Furthermore, the male fastening element and the female fastening element of the present invention can be connected by any quick-release structure.

[0048] FIG. 8 shows a user wearing a retaining device, a mask, and a snorkel according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The third embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, and only the difference between the two embodiments is depicted here.

[0049] The retaining device 8 of the third embodiment connects to a mask 3 and a snorkel 9. The mask 3 includes a head strap 33 and two positioning rings 35 (only the positioning ring 35 on one side is shown in the figure). The head strap 33 passes through the positioning ring 35. The positioning ring 35 is used to secure and to prevent the head strap 33 from further moving after a user well wears the mask. Different from the first embodiment, in this embodiment, the snorkel 9 comprises a tube body 91, a mouthpiece 93, a ring portion 95, and a ventilation portion 97. The mouthpiece 93 and the ventilation portion 97 are disposed at two ends of the tube body 91, respectively. The ring portion 95 is sleeved on and connected to the tube body 91. The retaining device 8 comprises a male fastening element 81 and a female fastening element 83. The female fastening element 83 is capable of coupling and decoupling from the male fastening element 81. The male fastening element 81 is disposed on the ring portion 95 of the snorkel 9, and the female fastening element 83 is disposed on the positioning ring 35 of the mask 3. In other words, the ring portion 95 is a part of the snorkel 9 in this embodiment instead of a part of the male fastening element of the retaining device.

[0050] The locations of the male fastening element and the female fastening element of the third embodiment can be exchanged. FIG. 9 shows exploded schematic view of a retaining device connected to the positioning ring according to of a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The fourth embodiment is similar to the second embodiment, and only the difference between the two embodiments is depicted here.

[0051] The retaining device 10 of the fourth embodiment connects to a mask (not shown) and a snorkel (not shown). The mask includes a head strap (not shown) and two positioning rings 35″(only one is shown). The head strap passes through the positioning ring 35″. The positioning ring 35″ is used to secure and to prevent the head strap from further moving after a user well wears the mask. Different from the second embodiment, the snorkel comprises a tube body, a mouthpiece, a ring portion 95′, and a ventilation portion. The mouthpiece and the ventilation portion are located at two ends of the tube body respectively. The ring portion 95 is sleeved on and connected to the tube body. The retaining device 10 comprises a male fastening element 101 and a female fastening element 103. The female fastening element 103 is capable of coupling and decoupling from the male fastening element 101. The male fastening element 101 is disposed on the positioning ring 35″ of the mask, and the female fastening element 103 is disposed on the ring portion 95′ of the snorkel. In other words, the ring portion 95′ is a part of the snorkel in this embodiment instead of a part of the female fastening element of the retaining device.

[0052] To conclude, the present invention combines the existing positioning ring on the mask with the retaining device, which not only allows the user to clearly know the attached/detached position when combining the mask and the snorkel. The head strap is tightly fitted in the positioning ring. Therefore, the positioning ring would not slide on the head strap, and the user's hair would not be caught and pulled. The user can have the most comfortable wearing state when moving in the water or leaving the water surface without laborious adjustment. On the manufacturing side, it simplifies the assembly process, part storage, and parts management. The present invention also facilitates storage after disassembly. Furthermore, through the combined structural design of the male fastening element and the female fastening element of the retaining device, the present invention further provides that the mask and the snorkel can perform relative rotation within a certain angle. The rotation buffer is provided so that the user's mouth or hair would not be pulled due to the change of buoyancy and gravity of the use environment.

[0053] The above disclosure is related to the detailed technical contents and inventive features thereof. People skilled in this field may proceed with a variety of modifications and replacements based on the disclosures and suggestions of the invention as described without departing from the characteristics thereof. Nevertheless, although such modifications and replacements are not fully disclosed in the above descriptions, they have substantially been covered in the following claims as appended.