US20050186865A1

US20050186865A1 - Webbed swim glove with water squirting feature

Info

Publication number: US20050186865A1
Application number: US10/785,872
Authority: US
Inventors: Samuel Harwell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-02-24
Filing date: 2004-02-24
Publication date: 2005-08-25

Abstract

A child's webbed swim glove that has been adapted to add significant play value by incorporating a built in water-squirting feature.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to webbed swim gloves worn by children. More specifically, the invention pertains to a webbed swim glove that improves play value by incorporating a built in water squirt feature.
Swim masks, webbed gloves and swim fins are used by children to improve their performance and comfort while swimming. Specifically, webbed swim gloves aid in swimming by spanning the area in between spread fingers and helping the child propel him/herself more efficiently through the water.
To date, webbed glove design has lacked features beyond improving said performance. Thus, it is highly desirable to provide a webbed swim glove that also increases the enjoyment by adding the water squirt feature that allows for more dynamic play.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The general purpose of the invention is to significantly improve the play value of children's webbed swim gloves. It is a still more particular object of the invention to incorporate a built in water squirting features directly into the glove.
In one embodiment of the invention the glove and water reservoir are styled like a shark to increase the dress-up play value and to incorporate the water reservoir in a visually appropriate manner.
The invention is a webbed squirt glove that is an integral part of Swim Gear Set packaged either with a Swim Mask or with a Swim Mask and Swim Fins. In addition to the performance enhancement and dress-up/roll play aspects of the webbed glove for children, it adds significant play value with a built in water squirt feature.
The glove is made of injection molded PVC in a durometer (hardness) of 60 degrees and is flexible to allow the user to comfortably wear it as a performance enhancer in the pool or other body of water.
The glove is designed with a squirting feature, which mimics the performance of a squirt gun or other toy water-squirting device by squirting water out of a valve near the fingertip and is built into the glove. The design incorporates a bladder (water reservoir) that is an integral part of the glove itself. The bladder is constructed by extending the walls of the glove down along the wrist area in the general shape of a shark's fin, or otherwise incorporating it into a character appropriate design configuration.
Squirt feature design includes a bladder that has a one-way valve located at the bottom of tip (further from the body of the glove) that allows water to be drawn into the reservoir when the bladder area of the glove is compressed and released. As it is soft and flexible, when compressed and released, the bladder area tends to return to its natural shape thus creating a vacuum effect that draws water into the reservoir.
The one way feature on the valve prevents water from being expelled though this same opening when the bladder area is compressed again. Pressure from the water that was already drawn into the reservoir pushes against the door to the valve opening, which forces it closed and prevents any water from being expelled through the inlet valve.
Once there is water in the bladder and it is compressed again, as it cannot be expelled through the inlet valve, the water is forced through the only other exit-a narrow PVC tube that is affixed to the glove vie solvent sealing around a specifically sized hole in the PVC wall of the bladder.
The PVC wall is specifically made in a separate mold and affixed to the main body of the glove via solvent sealing. To accomplish this the wall is also manufactured from PVC material in a slightly higher and specific durometer (hardness) of 80 degrees.
The water travels through the PVC tube and is expelled in a stream from a small nozzle that is fixed in place on the topside of the glove material.
The stream of water created can travel anywhere from 12 to 18 feet.
The glove is designed to give the user a built in squirting device for added fun and play value. To use the squirt feature the squirt glove is specifically designed for active “in-water” play as the mechanism is meant to draw water directly from the swimming pool or other body of water in which the user is playing.
The Webbed Squirt Glove, when properly worn on the hand, has the elastic band fit snuggly around the wrist of the wearer's five fingers inserted through the appropriate PVC finger rings as a glove with a wrist area and finger holes.
With the users hand oriented parallel to the water surface, palm facing down, the bladder (reservoir) area with one-way water inlet valve on the underside of the glove is extended away from the hand and wrist toward the outside of the user's body.
The gloved hand can then be rotated clockwise approximately 90 degrees or until the water inlet valve is completely submerged in the water, while the user's thumb, and index finger, and as a result the squirt nozzle remain out of the water.
The user can then reach down with their opposite hand and grasp and compress the still submerged bladder. Two or three compressions will fully fill the reservoir area.
Once the reservoir is full any subsequent compressions will force water through the PVC tubing and out through the nozzle, producing streams of water that can reach anywhere from 12 to 18 feet from the origin point (user's location).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of a specific embodiment of the Webbed Squirt Glove;
FIG. 2 is a bottom ¾ view of a specific embodiment of the Webbed Squirt Glove; and
FIG. 3: is a partial view with a cutaway view showing the interior of the water reservoir area.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

The webbed glove 3 is made of injection molded PVC in a durometer (hardness) of 60 degrees and is flexible to allow it to be worn comfortably.
The webbed glove 3 is designed with a squirting feature by incorporating a bladder 1 that is an integral part of the webbed glove 3. The bladder 1 is constructed by extending the walls of the glove 3 down along the wrist area in the general shape of a shark's fin. To create the bladder area 1, a side plate cover 5 is added. The side plate cover 5 is specifically made in a separate mold and affixed to the main body of the glove 3 via solvent sealing. To accomplish this the side plate cover 5 is also manufactured from PVC material in a slightly higher and specific durometer (hardness) of 80 degrees. The bladder 1 has a one-way valve 4 located at the outer point of the bladder 1. The valve 4 allows water to be drawn into the bladder 1 when the bladder 1 is compressed and released. As it is soft and flexible, when compressed and released, the bladder 1 tends to return to its natural shape thus creating a vacuum effect that draws water into the bladder 1.
The one way feature on the valve 4 prevents water from being expelled though this same opening when the bladder 1 is compressed again. Pressure from the water that was already drawn into the bladder 1 pushes against the valve opening 8 which forces the valve 4 into a closed state and prevents any water from being expelled through the valve 4.
Once there is water in the bladder 1 and it is compressed again, as it cannot be expelled through the valve 4, the water is forced through the only other exit—a narrow PVC tube 6. The PVC tube is affixed to the glove via solvent sealing around a hole in the side plate cover 5 of the bladder 1. The PVC tube 6 is the appropriate size to extend across the glove from the nozzle 2, through the side plate cover 5 and to the bottom of the bladder 1. When the bladder 1 is compressed, the water travels through the PVC tube 6 and is expelled in a stream from a small nozzle 2 that is fixed in place on the topside of the glove material. The stream of water created from typical user applied pressure can travel anywhere from 12 to 18 feet. The invention is specifically designed for active “in-water” play as the mechanism is meant to draw water directly from the swimming pool or other body of water in which the user is playing.
The invention, when properly worn on the hand, has the elastic band 7 fit snuggly around the wrist of the wearer and the users five fingers inserted through the appropriate PVC finger rings as a glove with a wrist area 14 and finger holes (9, 10,11,12,13). With the user's hand oriented parallel to the water surface with the palm facing downwards at an approximate height of 25 mm to 50 mm, the bladder 1 area with one-way water inlet valve 4 on the underside of the glove 3 is extended away from the hand and wrist toward the outside of the user's body. The gloved hand can then be rotated clockwise approximately 90 degrees or until the water inlet valve 4 is completely submerged in the water, while the user's thumb, and index finger, and as a result the squirt nozzle 2 remain out of the water. The user can then reach down with their opposite hand and compress and release the still submerged bladder 1. Two or three compressions is required before the bladder 1 is filled with water. Once the bladder 1 is full, any subsequent compressions of the bladder 1 will force water through the PVC tubing 6 and out through the nozzle 2, producing streams of water that can reach anywhere from 12 to 18 feet from the origin point (user's location).

Claims

1. A flexible webbed swimming glove incorporating a water squirting feature as an integral part of the glove structure, designed to be worn on one hand of the user and has the squirt feature activated with manual compression by the other hand of the bladder area to create a flow of water that mimics the performance of a squirt gun or other toy water squirting device.

2. A flexible webbed swimming glove as set forth in claim 1 wherein there is a bladder reservoir for storing water that is to be expelled by manual compression by the user.

3. A flexible webbed swimming squirt glove as in claim 1 with a one way intake valve that allows the reservoir to fill with water as it is compressed and released, and which prevents that water from exiting the reservoir upon subsequent compressions through that same valve.

4. A flexible webbed squirt glove as in claim 1 that has a tube extending from within the reservoir and terminating in a nozzle at the top area of the glove through which water that has entered the reservoir chamber through the one way intake valve is expelled upon manual compression and release of the flexible reservoir bladder area by the user.