Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
6747-16
This invention relates to coldproof waterproof garments designed
to be worn by the crew of ships (such as fishing boats) or other marine
structures, especially when they are engaged in hazardous work in cold waters,
or by people aboard a vessel in distress to protect the wearers if they should
fall into the water.
Work on the water in the cold is difficult, and in particular, work
in the rain or stormy weather is not only dangerous, but could also cause
physical problems for workers, such as colds or frostbite, as the rain and
water fall onto the workers and penetrate their clothing. If a worker should
accidentally fall overboard, the water will penetrate his clothing so that he
becomes soaked to the skin, leading to the danger or him dying from cold while
awaiting rescue. When a ship sinks in a shipwreck, the crew may be obliged
to stay immersed in cold water while waiting for rescue, so that even if they
wear life jackets, it is very likely that they will freeze to death.
Several kinds of coldproof waterproof garments specifically
designed for this purpose have already been developed, but it has been found
that there is still room for improvement in them.
Conventional coldproof waterproof garments have the problem that
the wearer's hands become very cold as he drifts in the water, and could even
become frostbitten if he should stay long in the sea. Also, in conventional
coldproof waterproof garments, the leg portions are formed to be large in size
so as to facilitate wear, so that the air in the leg portions acts as a
buoyant material which makes the wearer's legs float up to the water surface.
This leaves the wearer in a very unstable posture, and makes his body movements
awkward. Consequently, the rescuer's work is made difficult and also the
wearer tends to drift away because of the action of the wind or tide, hindering
the rescue work.
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6747-16
The present invention has as its object the provision
of improved coldproof waterproof garments which are free of these
problems of conventional garments.
According to the present invention, there is provided
a coldproof waterproof garment having upper and lower body
portions and a hood formed integrally of a waterproof material
or fabric, said garment being also provided with integral gloves
at the ends of sleeves and integral shoes at the ends of leg
portions thereof, and which is further characterized in that both
sleeves are provided with sleeve shaping fastening means operable
to alter the sleeve configuration between regular form and Dolman
form, permitting the size of the sleeve to be increased or reduced
to suit circumstances, further characterized in that a sea anchor
is connected to the garment by line means of suitable length, said
sea anchor being storable in a suitable container in the garment
when not in use.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention,
the sleeve shaping means is a fastening means easily accessible
from the front of the garment by a hand in the other glove and
sleeve along the underside of each sleeve from the armpit to a
point adjacent to but spaced from the end of the sleeve so that
upon entry of the wearer into the water the size of said sleeves
can be increased sufficiently to permit withdrawal of the hands
from said gloves and said sleeves into the upper body portion to
reduce the likelihood of frostbite, said garment further including
a sea anchor;securing means; and a rope secured at one end to the
rear of the garment and to said sea
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anchor at the other end thereof, said securing means being carried
by said upper portion for removably securing said sea anc'nor Jo
the rear of said upper portion and including means accessible t3
the wearer from the front of the garment for selectively
unsecuring said sea anchor from said upper portion.
The invention may also provide a fastening means along
the length of said leg portions so that the size of said leg
portion can be increased upon entry of the wearer into the water
to thereby increase the ease of passage of air from one portion of
the garment to another and to increase the ease of movement of the
wearer while in the water.
According to still another preferred feature there is
provided a garment wherein the upper body portion includes
interconnected side and top air chambers on the rear thereof; and
means for selectively inflating said air chambers.
According to still another preferred feature of the
present invention, a headrest is provided intercommunicating with
the air chambers at the rear of said upper body portion of said
garment, said headrest being usually flat and kept folded downward
when not inflated, said headrest being so adapted that gas can be
charged thereinto to inflate it so that it stands upright behind
the hood and supports the head of a wearer.
According to yet a further preferred feature of the
present invention, the garment of this invention is provided with
a suitable compressed-gas cylinder intercommunicating with said
air chambers and headrest, said compressed-gas cylinder being
provided with suitable means for releasing its contents into the
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said air chambers and headrest.
According to another preferred feature of the present
invention, the garment is adapted so that an inner garment made ox
a suitable thermal insulation material can be fitted into the
interior of said coldproof waterproof garment.
The following is a description by way of example, of
several embodiments of the present invention, reference being had
to the accompanying drawings in which:-
Figure 1 is a front view of the garment showing an
embodiment of this invention, having a fastener on one of the
sleeves closed and a fastener on the other sleeve open;
Figure 2 is a front view of the garment showing anotherembodiment
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of this invention, shown with the fasteners on one of the sleeves and one of
the leg portions closed, and the fasteners on the other sleeve and the other
leg portion open;
Figures 3 to 5 show a third embodiment of this invention, of which
Figure 3 is a front view of the garment with the fasteners on one of the
sleeves and one of the leg portions closed, and the fasteners on the other
sleeve and the other leg portion open; Figure 4 is a rear view of the garment,
and Figure 5 shows how the sea anchor is used in the sea;
Figures 6 to 8 show a fourth embodiment of this invention, of which
Figure 6 is a front view of the garment with the fasteners on one of the
sleeves and one of the leg portions closed, and the fasteners on the other
sleeve and the other leg portion open, Figure 7 is a rear view of the garment,
and Figure 8 is a partial side view of the garment with the air chambers filled
with air; and
Figure 9 is a front view of an inner cloth for the coldproof
waterproof garment of this invention.
The garment of this invention consists of upper and lower body por-
tions and a hood which are formed integrally of a waterproof material such as
rubber, or of a waterproof fabric of a synthetic resin, or synthetic fibers,
etc., and which also has integra.l gloves at the ends of the sleeves and integral
shoes at the ends of the leg portions, both the gloves and the shoes being made
of the same material or fabric as the body and hood portions, and is character-
ized in that:
(1) the sleeves are formed as Dolman sleeves and a fastening means
such as a zip fastener is provided on the underside of each sleeve extending
a suitable length from the armpit toward the cuff of the sleeve so that the
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size of the sleeves can be increased or reduced to suit the situation;
(2) a fastening means is also provided extending substantially
vertically for a suitable length along each leg portion so that the size of the
leg portions can be increased or reduced as desired;
(3) a rope of a suitable length is provided at the rea-r of the
garment, one end of the rope being secured to a suitable part of the garment
and the other end thereof being connected to a sea anchor of a suitable con-
figuration which is normally housed in a container on the back of the garment so
that it can be taken out when so desired; and
(4) the garment is so designed that air can be charged into two
side portions and a top portion at the rear of the upper half of the garment.
Thus, the coldproof waterproof garment of this invention provides
its wearer with the following benefits at work or at other times:
(1) The wearer can zip up the fasteners along both sleeves to make
the sleeves narrower so as to improve the practicality of the garment, but if
he should fall into the water by accident, he can unzip the fasteners to enable
him to pull his hands in from the gloves and place them close to his body to
warm them. This can prevent :Erostbite of his hands.
~2) The wearer can zip up the fasteners along both leg portions
to make the leg portions narrower and drive out the air therein to improve the
practicality of the garment, but if he should fall into the water by accident,
; he can unzip the fasteners to increase the size of the leg portions to allow
him to relax his legs and thus promote the circulation of blood in his legs.
(3) When the wearer is in the sea, he can remove the sea anchor
from its housing on the rear of the garment so that its resistance can prevent
him from drifting away under the action of the wind or tide, so that he can
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keep afloat with his head always to windward to expedite his rescue.
(4) Intercommunicating air chambers are provided at two side
portions and an upper portion on the rear of the upper half of the garment, an-l
a compressed-air cylinder or a similar device is provided in comrnunication with
the air chambers so that the wearer can operate the cylinder when in the sea
to charge air into the air chambers to make these portions of the wearer
buoyant so that he can maintain a stable posture while drifting in the sea.
Embodiments of this invention will now be described with reference
to the accompanying drawings.
lQ Referring to Figure 1, A designates generally a coldproof waterproof
survival garment as an embodiment of this invention, which consists of an inte-
gral upper body portion 1 and a lower body portion 2, both being made of a
waterproof material such as rubber, or a waterproof fabric of a synthetic
resin, synthetic fiber, etc., an integral hood 3 formed at the top end of the
upper body portion 1 oE the garment, an integral glove 5 at the end of each of
sleeves 4, and an integral shoe 7 at the end of each of leg portions 6 of the
lower body portion 2 of the garment. The front of the garment can be opened
vertically from the hood portion 3 to a part close to one thigh, the opening
being normally closed with a watertight fastener 8. Both sleeves 4 are formed
as Dolman sleeves, and a fastener 9 is provided on the underside of each
sleeve so as to) extending along a length from the armpit of the sleeve 4 to
a part substantially at the middle of the sleeve. This design enables an
adjustment of the size of the sleeves 4. Although not shown, the hood 3 is of
a double-walled structure which is provided with air chambers and is also
provided with an air valve through which air can be charged into or discharged
from the air chambers so that the hood can adjust to fit the head of the wearer.
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A belt 10 is provided around the waist of the garment A, and belts 11 are also
provided at the joint between each sleeve 4 and the corresponding glove 5 to
tighten it. These belts are designed to improve the practicality of the garment
during wear.
When the coldproof waterproof garment A of this embodiment of the
invention is worn by, for instance, a worker operating in cold seas, he puts
on the garment by opening the upper body portion by unzipping the water tight
fastener 8 while the sleeve fasteners 9are closed, and after putting on the
garment, he zips up the fastener 8 and fits the hood 3 over his head. He can
then leave the sleeve fasteners 9 zipped up to reduce the size of the sleeves
and improve the garment's practicality. If he should fall into the sea by
accident, he can unzip the sleeve fasteners 9 so that the sleeves 4 are enlarged
into the form of Dolman sleeves, making it easier for him to move his hands
in the sleeves, so that he can pull his hands in from the gloves 5 and place
them in the main part oE the garment A, for example by folding them across his
chest, to warm up with his body heat. In this way, the wearer's hands can be
kept from being frostbitten.
Pigure 2 shows another embodiment of the garment according to this
invention, in which a fastener 12 is provided vertically along each leg portion
of the garment A of Figure 1 so as to extend from the foot portion upward to a
part near the thigh, so that the size of each leg portion 6 can be reduced or
increased. This arrangement enables the wearer to make the leg portions narrow-
er by zipping up the fasteners to facilitate his motions when working, but if
he should fall into the sea by accident, he can unzip the fasteners 12 to
increase the size of the leg portions 6, and thus promote the circulation of
blood in his legs and prevent any drop in his body temperature.
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In the embodiment shown in Figures 3 to 5, a pouch-like container
13 for a sea anchor 15 is provided on the rear of the upper body portion of the
coldproof waterproof ~ar~ent A of Figure 2, and a sea anchor 15 is connected
to a rope 14 of which the other end is secured to the belt 10. l'he sea anchor
15 has also attached thereto a rope 16 used for pulling the anchor out of the
container 13. The sea anchor 15 is usually kept in its container 13 together
with most of the rope 14, but when the wearer is in the sea, he can pull on the
rope 16 so that the sea anchor 15 can be easily drawn out of the container 13
and open out in the sea, where its resistance acts to prevent the wearer from
drifting with the tide or current while keeping his head always into the wind,
to make his rescue easier.
In the embodiment shown in Figures 6 to 8, two side portions and a
top portion of the rear of the upper body portion of the coldproof waterproof
garment A of Figure 3 have a double-walled structure to provide air chambers
17, 18 and 19, respectively, and a headrest 20 is also provided in communication
with the air chamber 19 at the top rear portion of the garment A. A compressed
air cylinder 21 is provided in communication with the air chamber 17, and
string 22 for operating the cylinder is attached thereto. When the wearer
drifting in the sea operates the string 22 to open the cylinder 21, air is
charged into the air chambers 17, 18 and 19 to produce buoyancy in both side
portions and the top portion of the back of the wearer, enabling him to main-
tain a stable posture in the sea. The headrest 20 is usually flat and kept
folded downward, but when the cylinder 21 is opened to fill the air chambers 17,
18 and 19 and expand them the headrest 20 is also filled with air and expands
so as to stand upright behind the hood 3 and perform its intended function.
When the coldproof waterproof garment of this invention is made
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of a relatively thin material, the garment may be provided with an inner cloth
made of a heat-insulating material to improve its protection against cold.
Figure 9 exemplifies such an inner cloth. In the drawing, B desig-
nates generally an inner cloth consisting of an integral upper body portion 31
and lower body portion 32, both made of a heat-insulating material, which is
designed to be worn inside the garment A. Each sleeve 33 of the upper body
portion 31 of the cloth B is open along its lower side, and several press
fasteners 34 are provided at intervals along the length of the sleeve from the
armpit to an intermediate part thereof so that when the wearer wearing the
cloth B with the press fasteners 34 attached to each other forces the press
fasteners apart while pulling his hands in from the ends of the sleeves, the
lower sides of the sleeves 33 are opened, enabling him to bring his hands into
the interior of the body portion of the cloth B.
Thus, the use of the inner cloth B can further improve the effect
of the garment A of preventing the wearer's hands from becoming cold.
The coldproof waterproof garment must be buoyant, so for this pur-
pose, a buoyant member or a float chamber may be provided integrally with the
garment A, or the wearer may wear a life jacket before or after putting on the
coldproof waterproof garment.
The device of this invention provided with this construction, is
best suited as a coldproof waterproof garment worn by the crew of a ship or
other marine structure when doing dangerous work in cold seas, or aboard a ship
or other marine structure in distress.
