Snorkelling apparatus
A snorkeling apparatus comprising a face mask which has a transparent window portion which covers the user's eyes, a mouthpiece, and an air passage extending from said mouthpiece to a point above the wearer's head when in use, said air passage extending around at least one side of the window portion of the face mask.
This invention relates to a snorkeling apparatus, that is, apparatus which can be used by swimmers with their face underwater but which enables them to breathe through an air tube which extends above the water level.
Most current snorkeling apparatus comprises a breathing tube that passes from the mouth and up one side of a swimmer's head. This breathing tube is fitted to or tucked under the head-strap of a facemask which has a transparent window panel. This arrangement has problems in that the position of the breathing tube in relation to the swimmer's head and the water level and is difficult to fix accurately and is not always stable. Furthermore, the one-sided arrangement causes drag in the water and also impedes and imbalances swimming action, particularly front crawl.
Centrally mounted front air tubes exist and these help to overcome some of the problems mentioned above, but they introduce the additional problem that the tube restricts vision as it passes centrally between the eyes. This interrupts the view of marine life and sub-aqua panorama when in use.
According to the present invention snorkeling apparatus comprises a face mask which has a transparent window portion which covers the user's eyes, a mouthpiece, and a air passage extending from said mouthpiece to a point above the user's head when in use, said air passage extending around at least one side of the window portion of the face mask.
With this arrangement the window portion can have a surrounding frame at least part of which is hollow and forms part of said air passage.
The surrounding frame can be hollow to provide part of said air passage and connected at its lower end to the mouthpiece and has an upper end which is connected to one or more hollow air tubes which extend over the user's head.
If desired, two or more hollow air tubes can be provided which extend from the air passage and over the user's head. In another construction, according to the invention, the hollow frame is carried by a solid inner frame.
In a preferred arrangement there is an air passage on both sides of the face mask and the air passage can be arranged to surround the transparent window portion.
The mouthpiece can be integral with the face mask or, in an alternative arrangement, can be removably connected. With this latter construction the mouthpiece can be made from a resilient material and be a push fit into an opening in the air passage.
The apparatus can also include a streamlined headgear fitting.
The invention can be performed in various ways and some embodiments will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
As shown in
Thus window portion 2 has a surrounding frame 5 which is hollow to provide the air passage and at its lower portion is connected to the mouthpiece 3 and at an upper portion communicates with one or more hollow air tubes 6 which extend over the user's head.
An arrangement of straps is provided which comprise a mask strap 7 and a head strap 8 which is connected to the hollow air tube 6.
As will be seen from
In
A typical clip 13 is shown in
In another arrangement, shown in
If desired, more than two hollow air tubes can be used.
With the ‘two tube arrangement’ it will be appreciated that the air can pass around the air passages, i.e. around the transparent window portion and into the air tubes 14 and 15. The tubes 14 and 15 can be connected to the head strap 8.
The arrangement can be used on any of the face mask constructions previously described herein.
In all the constructions described above the hollow air tubes 6 are shown attached to the face mask but in
As will be seen from
If there are two hollow air tubes, for example as shown in
In the embodiment shown in
Air tubes of varying lengths can be supplied and they could also be supplied in different colours so that they can be identified. Alternative mouthpieces can also be provided in colours in a similar manner.
The invention, therefore, also includes a snorkeling apparatus which comprises a kit of parts which includes a face mask which has a transparent window portion which covers the user's eyes, one or more alternative mouthpieces, an air passage extending from said mouthpiece to a point above the wearer's head when in use, said air passage extending around at least one side of the window portion of the face mask and two or more hollow air tubes which can be connected to the air passage. Thus, the various parts can be assembled together as required by the user and for any particular convenient fitting to the user's face.
As mentioned above, it will be appreciated that the various constructions can be combined together as required, for example the removable mouthpiece or mouthpieces can be used in the arrangements shown in the other Figures and the inner frame construction 10 can be used in other embodiments as can the various arrangements for attaching the air tubes or tubes.
The apparatus can be made from any suitable material, for example rubber or a synthetic plastics material and the diameter of the hollow air passage 4 would be sufficient to allow a required air supply to the user.
Claims
1. A snorkeling apparatus comprising a face mask which has a transparent window portion which covers the user's eyes, a mouthpiece, and an air passage extending from said mouthpiece to a point above the wearer's head when in use, said air passage extending around at least one side of the window portion of the face mask.
2. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the window portion has a surrounding frame at least part of which is hollow and forms part of said air passage.
3. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said surround frame is hollow to provide part of said air passage which is connected at its lower end to said mouthpiece and which has an upper portion which communicates to one or more hollow air tubes which extend over the user's head.
4. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 3 in which two or more hollow air tubes are provided which extend from the air passage and over the user's head.
5. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 3 which said hollow frame is carried by a solid inner frame.
6. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which there is an air passage on both sides of the face mask.
7. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 6 in which the air passage surrounds the transparent window portion.
8. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said mouthpiece is integral with the face mask.
9. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said mouthpiece is removably connected to the face mask.
10. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 9 in which said mouthpiece is made from a resilient material and is a push fit into an opening in the air passage.
11. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 10 in which said mouthpiece includes a flexible resilient tube.
12. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 which includes a streamlined headgear fitting.
13. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said hollow air tubes are removably connected to said air passage.
14. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 13 in which the air passage includes openings to which said air tubes can be connected by a push-in plug or a screw thread.
15. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 13 in which a plug is provided to close an opening when not connected to an air tube.
16. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 13 in which three or more openings are provided in the air passage.
17. (canceled)
18. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 4 in which said hollow frame is carried by a solid inner frame.
19. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 18 in which there is an air passage on both sides of the face mask.
20. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 7 in which said mouthpiece is integral with the face mask.
21. A snorkeling apparatus as claimed in claim 7 in which said mouthpiece is removably connected to the face mask.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 23, 2011
Publication Date: Mar 28, 2013
Inventor: William Newhouse (London)
Application Number: 13/200,390
International Classification: B63C 11/16 (20060101);