Snorkel with pivoting mouthpiece
US5845635A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 8, 1997 |
| Grant date | Dec 8, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 8, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB63C11/205
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A lower housing connects to the snorkel tube on one end, to the mouthpiece at the other, and can connect to ambient through a one-way purge valve in the middle. The lower housing has a mouthpiece with flexible bellows attached to it. Within the mouthpiece, and connected to the lower housing, is a sleeve in one of multiple positions. The mouthpiece is connected to the other end of the sleeve so that as the sleeve angle changes relative to the lower housing, so does the mouthpiece angle change. A flexible rib in the lower housing has a raised contour that locks into one of a plurality of raised contours on the sleeve. Therefore, to change the angle of the mouthpiece relative to the lower housing, the snorkeler simply pushes the mouthpiece into one of several positions. There is enough locking pressure between the lower housing rib and the sleeve contours to prevent the mouthpiece from changing positions unintentionally.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.