FLOATATION DEVICE AND RELEVANT MANUFACTURING METHOD

The present invention relates to a floatation device and to its manufacturing method. In particular, the floatation device that is described and claimed herein is used to help children in the water when they are learning to float.

Moreover, the floatation device of the invention is advantageously used as device for rescuing people from the water. Floatation devices are known, such as for example life jackets, which are used to hold a person with his or her head out of the water also when he or she is unconscious.

Specifically, life jackets comprise a major portion that is suitable for being at least partially associated with the trunk and/or the back of the user, an upper portion suitable for being at least partially associated with the back side of the neck of the user, and two connection portions disposed between the upper portion and the major portion to define an opening for introducing the head of the user. Moreover, said life jackets comprise means, such as belts, that are configured in such a way to temporarily retain the floatation device onto the body of the user.

Life jackets can be of inflatable type and can comprise two sheets of waterproof material that are perimetrically joined in order to define an air gap suitable for being inflated.

When they are inflated, said life jackets perfectly adhere to the body of the user, thus being comfortable and practical to use.

When they are not used, said life jackets can be deflated and suitably folded in order to reduce their volume.

However, inflatable life jackets are impaired by the fact that they can be easily punctured. In fact, in case of contact with pointed objects, said waterproof sheets that define the air gap can get punctured, inevitably deflating the like jacket, which will ultimately lose its function. Inflatable life jackets are disclosed in GB889158, GB870877 and FR1065471.

The aforementioned drawback of the inflatable life jackets is remedied by a second type of life jackets according to the prior art, which consists in padded life jackets obtained by using waterproof pockets that are suitably filled with a floating material, such as polystyrene or cork, and then stitched in such a way to tightly contain said floating material, preventing it from being dispersed.

However, padded life jackets are difficult to manufacture because they require several operations and several types of materials. Moreover, said padded life jackets are difficult to clean after use because sand can penetrate in the folds of the life jacket, remaining trapped even after repeatedly rinsing the life jacket with water. An additional drawback of the padded life jackets consists in the fact that they cannot be folded and are therefore cumbersome when they are not used and difficult to store away in a peak or in a bag.

The purpose of the present invention is to disclose a floatation device of non-inflatable non-padded type that, while being easy to make, is able to achieve the same technical floating effects as the floatation devices of the prior art.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a floatation device that is easy to clean.

Finally, the purpose of the present invention is to disclose a manufacturing method of the floatation device according to the present invention, which is fast and does not require an excessive number of operations.

These purposes are achieved according to the invention with the characteristics of the independent claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention appear from the dependent claims.

The floatation device of the invention is defined by the independent claim

1. The advantages of the floatation device according to the invention are evident: being a monolithic solid product that is made of molded plastic, it is extremely easy and fast to manufacture.

Moreover, the provision of a first folding portion and of a second folding portion, which are respectively obtained in the first connection portion and in the second connection portion of the floatation device, allows for at least partially folding the upper portion of the device relative to the major portion around a first folding axis that is substantially transverse to the axis of longitudinal symmetry of the major portion.

Furthermore, the major portion of the floatation device according to the invention advantageously comprises a third folding portion in order to define a right-hand major portion and a left-hand major portion, in such a way that the right-hand major portion can be at least partially folded relative to the left-hand major portion around a second folding axis that is substantially parallel to said axis of longitudinal symmetry of said major portion.

Additional features of the invention will appear manifest from the detailed description below, which refers to a merely illustrative, not limiting embodiment, as illustrated in the attached figures, wherein:

Figs. 1 A and 1 B are two axonometric views of the floatation device according to the invention, which are respectively seen from above and from below;

Fig. 1 C is a top view of the floatation device according to the invention;

Fig. 1 D is a front view of the floatation device according to the invention;

Fig. 1 E is a rear view of the floatation device according to the invention.

With reference to Figs. 1 A and 1 B, a floatation device according to the invention is disclosed, which is generally indicated with reference numeral (1 ).

The floatation device (1 ) comprises a body (100) with an axis of longitudinal symmetry (X), comprising the following portions that are continuously joined, one of them being shaped in such a way to define an opening (6) used to introduce the head of the user:

- a major portion (2) suitable for being at least partially associated to the trunk of the user, and having an axis of symmetry that coincides with said axis of longitudinal symmetry (X) of the body; - an upper portion (3) suitable for being at least partially associated with the back side of the neck of the user, and

- a pair of identical symmetrical connection portions (4, 5) disposed between the major portion (2) and the upper portion (3).

Moreover, the floatation device (1 ) comprises retention means (7) (which are only shown in Fig. 1 D for the sake of clarity) to temporarily retain the floatation device (1 ) to the body of the user. In particular, as described in detail below, said retention means (7) functionally operate in correspondence of the back of the user, in such a way that the major portion (2) of the floatation device is always and only associated with the trunk of the user. The body (100) of the floatation device (1 ) according to the invention has a monolithic solid structure that is made of molded floating plastic. Specifically, the major portion (2), the upper portion (3) and the connection portions (4, 5) are made in one molded piece, preferably by means of an injection molding process. Still according to the embodiment that is herein described and shown, the body (100) is made of Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) in one molded piece. In addition to guaranteeing an excellent floatation of the device according to the invention, such a material is easy to clean and does not need any surface finish at the end of the molding process. Moreover, the modern molding technology allows for making different parts of the floatation device (1 ) with different colors using the same molding material. According to other embodiments, the surface of the floatation device (1 ) can be used as support to mold figures and/or images or to attach wordings and/or images according to the specific requirements of manufacturers or customers.

As shown in the attached figures, each connection portion (4, 5) comprises a folding line (41 , 51 ) configured in such a way to at least partially fold the upper portion (3) relative to the major portion (2) around a folding axis (L) that is substantially transverse, or in other words orthogonal, to the axis of longitudinal symmetry (X) of the major portion (2). In particular, the folding line (41 , 51 ) of each one of the two connection portions (4, 5) comprises two annular grooves with lower thickness (41 a, 41 b; 51 a, 51 b) where the thickness of the connection portion (4, 5) is evidently reduced. Practically speaking, said annular grooves with lower thickness (41 a, 41 b; 51 a, 51 b) operate as a hinge between the upper portion (3) and the major portion (2). In view of the above, the user can comfortably wear the floatation device (1 ) during use and fold it away when not used in order to reduce its volume. This is obtained when the upper portion (3) is folded by approximately 90° relative to the major portion (2).

Moreover, the major portion (2) comprises a folding line (61 ) that defines a right-hand major portion (2a) and a left-hand major portion (2b) of the major portion (2), in such a way that the right-hand major portion (2a) can be at least partially folded relative to the left-hand major portion (2b) around a folding axis that substantially coincides with the axis of longitudinal symmetry (X) of the major portion (2).

In view of the above, the user can adjust the shape of the major portion (2) to the dimensions of his or her body by simply folding the right-hand major portion (2a) of the major portion (2) relative to the left-hand major portion (2b).

In particular, the folding line (61 ) of the major portion (2) comprises an annular groove with lower thickness (62) that surrounds the major portion (2), said major portion (2) having a lower thickness in correspondence of said annular groove with lower thickness (62).

Still according to the present invention, the major portion (2) of the floatation device (1 ) comprises two slots (70a, 70b) obtained in two wings (71 , 72) of the major portion (2).

For the sake of clarity, as diagrammatically shown in Fig. 1 D only, the retention means (7) advantageously comprise a belt (80) comprising a first string (81 ) with a first end (81 a) that is permanently inserted in the first slot (70a), and a second string (82) with a first end (82a) that is permanently inserted in the second slot (70b). A buckle (90) removably connects a second end (81 b) of the first string (81 ) to a second end (82b) of the second string (82). Such a buckle (90) is of plastic deformation type according to the prior art, it being composed of two elements (90a, 90b) that are coupled in snap-in mode. Advantageously, both the belt (80) and the buckle (90) are made of plastic. The present invention also relates to the manufacturing method of the floatation device according to the invention, which provides for molding the body (100) of the floatation device (1 ) in one piece. In particular, said method comprises the following steps:

- provision of a mold with a cavity shaped as the body (100) of the floatation device (1 );

- introduction of floating plastic in the cavity of the mold;

- permanence of the floating plastic in the cavity of the mold for a sufficient time to cool the plastic,

- opening of the mold and extracting of the body (100) of the floatation device (1 ).

Advantageously, the floating plastic comprises Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) that is injected in the cavity of the mold.

After experimental tests, the applicant surprisingly observed that if the ratio between the mass (or volume) of the major portion (2) and the sum of the mass (or volume) of the upper portion (3) and of the connection portions (4, 5) is higher than 1 .6, and namely comprised between 1 .8 and 2.4, regardless of the weight of the user, in the weight range for which the floatation device of the invention is designed, according to its dimensions, the floatation device (1 ) will be subject to a moment that will always tend to bring it back to a position in which the major portion (2) is directed out of the water and the face of the user is always directed upwards. As shown in this example, the mass of the major portion (2) is 0.283 kg, whereas the mass given by the sum of the individual masses of the upper portion (3) and of the connection portions (4, 5) is 0.139 kg. In view of the above, the ratio between the two masses is approximately 2.03 and, therefore, the floatation device of the invention will be always capable of rotating the user in a totally safe position, with the head always out of the water. Moreover, according to additional embodiments that are not shown herein, in spite of being monolithic, the floatation device of the invention can have different parts with different colors. For instance, the major portion (2) can be red, whereas the upper portion (3) and the two connection portions (4, 5) can be yellow or of another color. Furthermore, a housing can be obtained in the major portion (2) or in the upper portion (3) in order to insert refractive strips by means of gluing to increase the visibility of the floatation device in the water.