U.S. patent application number 16/549618 was filed with the patent office on 2020-03-05 for swimming aid.
This patent application is currently assigned to Aqua-Leisure Industries, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Aqua-Leisure Industries, Inc.. Invention is credited to Scott R. de Grasse, Suzanne Wasserman.
Application Number | 20200070940 16/549618 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 69639578 |
Filed Date | 2020-03-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20200070940 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
de Grasse; Scott R. ; et
al. |
March 5, 2020 |
SWIMMING AID
Abstract
A swimming aid comprises a body member and a pair of buoyant
sleeve members attached to opposite sides of the body member. Each
sleeve member is configured to receive an arm of the user
therethrough by way of an opening in the sleeve member. Each sleeve
member includes an adjustable fastener to allow the expansion of
the opening of said sleeve member to facilitate the receipt arm of
the user into and through the sleeve member.
Inventors: |
de Grasse; Scott R.;
(Marshfield, MA) ; Wasserman; Suzanne;
(Winchester, MA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Aqua-Leisure Industries, Inc. |
Avon |
MA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Aqua-Leisure Industries,
Inc.
Avon
MA
|
Family ID: |
69639578 |
Appl. No.: |
16/549618 |
Filed: |
August 23, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62725732 |
Aug 31, 2018 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 31/12 20130101;
A63B 2225/605 20130101; B63C 9/11 20130101; A63B 2208/12
20130101 |
International
Class: |
B63C 9/11 20060101
B63C009/11 |
Claims
1. A swimming aid to be worn by a user, comprising: a body member
having a first edge and a second edge; and a pair of buoyant sleeve
members each having an inner end and an outer end, the inner ends
being attached, respectively, to opposite edges of the body member,
wherein each sleeve member is configured to receive an arm of the
user therethrough by way of an opening in the sleeve member, and
wherein each sleeve member includes an adjustable fastener to allow
the expansion of the opening of said sleeve member to facilitate
the receipt arm of the user through the sleeve member.
2. The swimming aid of claim 1 wherein the body member is adapted
to fit over the shoulders of the user.
3. The swimming aid of claim 2 wherein the sleeve members are
comprised of an inner core surrounded by a fabric layer.
4. The swimming aid of claim 3 wherein the inner core member is
comprised of closed cell foam.
5. The swimming aid of claim 1 wherein the sleeve members are
substantially cylindrical, and the opening extends substantially
along the axis of the cylinder.
6. The swimming aid of claim 2 wherein the sleeve members are
substantially cylindrical, and the opening extends substantially
along the axis of the cylinder.
7. The swimming aid of claim 3 wherein the sleeve members are
substantially cylindrical, and the opening extends substantially
along the axis of the cylinder.
8. The swimming aid of claim 4 wherein the sleeve members are
substantially cylindrical, and the opening extends substantially
along the axis of the cylinder.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. Section
119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/725,732 entitled
"SWIMMING AID." filed on Aug. 31, 2018, which application is hereby
incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to swimming aids and particularly to
swimming aids incorporating buoyant sleeves that assist in keeping
a child afloat while the child is being taught to swim.
[0003] Flotation devices are often used to help teach children to
swim. For example, the teacher may employ life preservers,
kickboards, buoyant vests, and/or inflatable sleeves to help keep
the child afloat. The instant invention provides a swimming aid
comprising a pair of buoyant sleeves attached to a body member that
fits around the shoulders and/or the torso of the child. The device
is easy to fit onto a child and easy to remove because an
adjustable fastener in the sleeve allows for the adjustment or
opening of the sleeve so that the child's arms may be comfortably
introduced into and removed from the sleeve.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] Non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be
described by way of example with reference to the accompanying
figures, which are schematic and are not intended to be drawn to
scale. In the figures, each identical or nearly identical component
illustrated is typically represented by a single numeral. For
purposes of clarity, not every component is labeled in every
figure, nor is every component of each embodiment of the invention
shown where illustration is not necessary to allow those of
ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention. In the
figures:
[0005] FIG. 1 depicts a swimming aid according to one aspect of the
instant invention.
[0006] FIG. 2 depicts the front of the swimming aid.
[0007] FIG. 3 depicts the back of the swimming aid.
[0008] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the swimming aid.
[0009] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the swimming aid, with the
zippers in open position.
[0010] FIG. 6 illustrates the swimming aid in place on a user.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0011] A swimming aid 10 according to one aspect of the instant
invention is depicted in FIG. 1. Buoyant sleeve members 12 and 14
are substantially cylindrical in shape and comprise a buoyant core
enclosed in a fabric cover such as a polyester. Each sleeve member
includes an opening 16 (See FIGS. 5 and 6 below) to allow insertion
of a child's arm into and through the sleeve.
[0012] In this aspect of the invention, body member 18 is attached
to the inner end of each sleeve member 12 and 14, as described more
fully below. The body member may be comprised of various materials
of different lengths to cover less or more of the torso of the
user. The buoyant core may comprise foam material or plastic
bladders or cylinders of known construction. In this aspect of the
invention, the fabric material is 120 gsm polyester interlock,
while the foam material is expanded polyethylene foam (EPE). Other
appropriate and known materials may be selected by those of
ordinary skill in the art.
[0013] FIG. 2 depicts the front of swimming aid 10. Edge stitching
38 is shown across the back collar edge 40 as well as along its
bottom edge 42, and along the front side inner edges 44 and 46 of
shoulder portions 22 and 24.
[0014] FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the back of swimming aid
10. Body member 18 includes a center portion 20 and shoulder
portions 22 and 24, which have a somewhat triangular configuration.
Shoulder portions 22 and 24 may include a buoyant core as well.
[0015] The inner edges 26 and 28 of buoyant sleeve members 12 and
14 are attached to the outer edges 30 and 32 of shoulder portions
22 and 24, respectively, preferably by stitching. The inner edges
34 and 36 of the shoulder portions are stitched to center portion
20 of the body member 18.
[0016] As seen in FIG. 4, each of the sleeve members 12 and 14
incorporates an adjustable fastener, here zippers 48 and 50,
respectively, that allows the sleeve member to be opened up or
expanded, as in FIG. 5, to facilitate insertion of the child's arm
into and through the sleeve member. In this illustration, the
zipper extends approximately three-quarters of the way across the
sleeve, but a different length for the zipper could be chosen to
facilitate ever greater ease of access or egress. Other adjustable
fastener devices such as hook-and-loop or button snaps might be
employed instead of zippers. Moreover, the zippers need not be
located at the bottom of the sleeves, but may be placed at other
locations on the sleeves, as desired.
[0017] FIG. 6 is an illustration of a child wearing the swimming
aid device disclosed herein.
[0018] Those skilled in the art may readily recognize various
alterations, modifications, and improvements, including increased
torso coverage to accommodate a larger size range and increased fit
properties. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are
intended to be within the scope and spirit of this disclosure.
Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only
and is not intended to be limiting.
[0019] While several embodiments of the present invention have been
described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the
art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or
structures for performing the functions and/or obtaining the
results and/or one of more of the advantages described herein, and
each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within
the scope of the present invention. More generally, those skilled
in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions,
materials, and configurations described herein are mean to be
exemplary and the actual parameters, dimensions, materials and/or
configurations will depend upon the specific application or
applications for which the teachings of the present invention
is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize or be able to
ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many
equivalents to the specific embodiments of the invention described
herein. It is therefore to be understood that the foregoing
embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, with the
scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, the invention
may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and
claimed. The present invention is directed to each individual
feature, system, article, material, and/or method described herein.
In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems,
articles, materials, and/or methods, if such features, systems,
articles, materials, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent,
is included within the scope of the present invention.
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