Personal flotation device comprising liquid impervious buoyant filaments

Abstract

A personal flotation device is described which is in the form of a flexible garment or combination of garments made from liquid impervious filaments of buoyant material. The garment or combination of garments accommodate movement of the wearer while providing the wearer with buoyancy.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A personal flotation device comprising:
 an item of clothing that is worn in place of standard everyday casual clothing, the item of clothing being made from flotation filaments of liquid impervious closed cell polymer foam having buoyancy when immersed in water, a cross-sectional thickness of between 2 mm to 6 mm and stretch properties that enable the item of clothing to conform to a body of a wearer and flex during movement, the item of clothing providing buoyancy and being chosen from a jacket with sleeves, sweater with sleeves, a pair of pants, gloves, mitts, socks, arm sleeves, leggings, and hats.   
     
     
         22 . The personal flotation device of clam  21 , wherein the item of clothing has insufficient buoyancy to meet personal flotation device flotation standards of a minimum 15.5 pounds of buoyancy to the wearer, two or more items of clothing being combined so that the ensemble meets the personal flotation device flotation standards. 
     
     
         23 . The personal flotation device of  claim 21 , wherein the filaments are sheathed or covered with one or more materials to improve durability. 
     
     
         24 . The personal flotation device of  claim 21 , wherein the filaments are segmented into segmented pieces and then sheathed or covered with one or more materials to encapsulate the segmented pieces. 
     
     
         25 . The personal flotation device of  claim 21 , wherein the filaments take the form of connecting links and the item of clothing takes the form a chain mail garment. 
     
     
         26 . The personal flotation device of  claim 25 , wherein the connecting links are connected to form the item of clothing by one of interlocking, weaving, gluing, welding, or clipping. 
     
     
         27 . The personal flotation device of  claim 21 , wherein each of the filaments has a supporting fiber yarn or monofilament line forming a composite filament. 
     
     
         28 . The personal flotation device of  claim 27 , wherein the composite filament has the filaments wrapped by one or more supporting fiber yarns or monofilament lines. 
     
     
         29 . The personal flotation device of  claim 21 , wherein an interlocking profile is provided whereby the filaments are aligned and connected. 
     
     
         30 . The personal flotation device of  claim 21 , wherein the filaments are woven together by inserting one of the stands through a slot or slots in other of the filaments. 
     
     
         31 . The personal flotation device of  claim 21 , where the filaments that are laminated on one or both sides with woven fabrics or films to create multi-layer composite material. 
     
     
         32 . The personal flotation device of  claim 28 , wherein the composite filament have an outer layer of formed by the strand and a central layer of fabric or film. 
     
     
         33 . The personal flotation device of  claim 28 , wherein the composite filament have an inner layer formed by the strand and an outer layer of fabric or film. 
     
     
         34 . The personal flotation device of  claim 28 , wherein the filaments are formed into shapes or panels and inserted into supporting textile pockets or envelopes to add insulation, cooling or flotation to item of clothing. 
     
     
         35 . The personal flotation device of  claim 21 , wherein the item of clothing has a torso portion and a sleeve portion, the torso portion has a thickness of 4 mm to 6 mm as a torso covering and the sleeve portion has a thickness of 2 mm to 3 mm. 
     
     
         36 . The personal flotation device of  claim 21 , wherein the item of clothing is tightly woven to provide thermal insulation properties to reduce loss of body heat. 
     
     
         37 . The personal flotation device of  claim 21 , wherein the item of clothing is loosely woven to allow for cooling ventilation. 
     
     
         38 . The personal flotation device of  claim 21 , wherein the item of clothing is knitted to a desired shape without any seams. 
     
     
         39 . A method of forming a personal flotation device, the method comprising:
 providing an item of clothing that is worn in place of standard everyday casual clothing, the item of clothing being made from flotation filaments of liquid impervious closed cell polymer foam having buoyancy when immersed in water, a cross-sectional thickness of between 2 mm to 6 mm and stretch properties that enable the item of clothing to conform to a body of a wearer and flex during movement, the item of clothing providing buoyancy and being chosen from a jacket with sleeves, sweater with sleeves, a pair of pants, gloves, mitts, socks, arm sleeves, leggings, and hats;   forming the item of clothing so as to have insufficient buoyancy to meet personal flotation device flotation standards; and   combining at least two of the items of clothing so that the ensemble meets personal flotation device flotation standards.