text: 1. Field of the Invention
  This invention pertains to equipment worn by divers for underwater activities. More particularly, it pertains to buoyancy compensators and vests worn by divers who use containers or tanks of breathable gas during their underwater dives. The invention is specifically directed to a lumbar support device that prevents injury to the backs of divers whose body size is not wholly compatible with many diving vests that hold the large gas tanks.
  2. Description of the Prior Art
  Scuba diving or under water breathable diving has evolved over the years from the original large, heavy air tank mounted on a stiff backboard strapped to the diver""s back to the more modern use of a buoyancy compensating vest worn about the divers torso that holds the tank and also is inflatable and employs some cushioning under the air tank mounting board. This cushioning provides a measure of comfort to the diver during underwater activities as the tank is separated but a short distance from the diver""s back and often injures the diver if not properly placed and adequately cushioned. When out of the water, these heavy tanks can cause substantial injury to the diver if they are not cushioned very carefully according to the size and body structure of the diver.
  The modernization of scuba diving has brought more people into the sport. This new crop of divers range in age from the teens to senior citizens and includes persons of all size and shape and of differing height. The air tank, however, has remained the same, i.e., it is large and heavy. While some of this bulk and weight is relieved during the under water activities where the water helps support the tank, walking about wearing the tank and other equipment out of the water and moving about the boat or other water craft prior to and following diving activity continues to be a problem for many people. Even under water activities with cushioned air tanks can cause problems of uncomfortableness for persons of small stature.
  The prior art has attempted to solve this problem in two ways: first, U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,554 discloses an inflatable xe2x80x9ctrimxe2x80x9d bladder, located between the diver""s back and the backpack on which the breathable gas (hereinafter xe2x80x9cairxe2x80x9d) tank is mounted for possible inflation by the diver to trim his excessive weight and stabilize his position in the selected depth of the water. This bladder, when inflated, will separate the rigid surface of the backpack and air tank to which it is mounted from the diver""s swimsuit and reduce contact therebetween. However, when the diver chooses not to inflate the bladder, there is no relief for the diver from contact from the tank or backpack. In addition, when the diver is out of the water, the bladder is not inflated. Further, a person of short stature may not obtain any relief from the bladder, whether inflated or not.
  Another prior art attempt to provide relief from the discomfort of the backpack and tank is to actually place the buoyancy compensator itself between the tank and the diver""s back. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,585, a buoyancy compensator is provided that, when inflated by exhaust air from the breathing cycle, inflates and separates the back board and the attached air tank from the diver""s back. Again, while this provides some relief in the water, it provides no relief out of the water or to those whose stature is incompatible with the large, heavy tank.
  There is also a recent practice to provide a pouch between the backpack and the rear of the diver""s suit, having openings in the skin of the pouch to allow it to be filled with water during a dive that is drained upon emergence from the water, where the pouch is also filled with reticulated foam to provide inflation, drainage, and support. However, while this provides some relief, it is not adjustable for persons of different size or who have short torsos so that the long air tank might strike them on the illiac crest or in the region between the hips and injure them.
  This invention is an improvement in the vest and buoyancy compensator (hereinafter xe2x80x9cbuoyancy compensator vestxe2x80x9d) for wearing by scuba divers to provide not only buoyancy, in under water activities, but to provide non-collapsible support to their spine, kidneys and illiac crest for both in-water and out-of-water activities while wearing the tank. The buoyancy compensator vest is generally formed in a configuration that starts with a rigid back board, defined by a front and rear surfaces, for supporting the air tank vertically thereon at the back of the diver, and is surrounded in part by the inflatable bladder and a panel. The panel may or may not be inflatable itself but is defined by spaced-apart top and bottom edges, and spaced-apart side edges, all the edges joined together at their intersecting corners. The panel further includes a pair of spaced-apart straps that extend from the top edge of the panel over the diver""s shoulders for joining with a pair of spaced-apart side portions that extend from the panel side edges about the chest of the diver to complete the vest part of the buoyancy compensator vest. One or more belts anchored to the back board pass about the panel side portions and buckles at the front of the diver""s waist to hold the vest, back board, and buoyancy compensator in place.
  The improvement of this invention includes a pouch, defined by front and rear surfaces and an openable panel to expose the interior thereof. The pouch is mounted or made an integral part of the vest portion of the buoyancy compensator vest and is juxtaposed or placed closely in front of the diver""s back, under the back board, and contains a cushion for placement against the back of the diver, to cushion the back board and tank against the diver""s spine. The pouch has openings formed therein to allow it to fill with water during underwater activities and to drain that water following exiting from the water. In another embodiment of the invention, a pair of spaced-apart kidney-shaped support cushions, each of a thick-to-thin cross-sectional design, are provided on the sides of the panel, over the kidneys, to protect them when the user swings side-to-side such that the heavy air tank can possibly batter against the lower back of the user. Under water, the kidney-shaped cushions help stabilize the tank along the user""s spine for better balance and protection against injury from the tank.
  A unique flexible strap is located in the pouch, between the cushion in the pouch and the front surface thereof and is arranged in vertical orientation therein. The novel aspect of this invention is that the strap is pre-bowed outward toward the diver""s back and has fixed upper and lower ends so that the flexible bow is non-collapsible. This means that, as a portion of the bow is depressed or pushed inward toward the diver, such as from the heavy weight of the air tank, another part of the bow extends outward to force the back board slightly away from the diver""s spine and other internal organs. Because the strap is pre-bowed and its ends anchored against movement, there is no place on the bow can it be totally collapsed because of the balance of the bow moving against the collapsing force. This means that the air tank and other heavy equipment attached to the back pack can never touch the diver""s back. Thus, all divers, regardless of their height, girth, and torso length, will be protected from contact with the heavy and cumbersome air tank. This is particularly advantageous for women and small children who take up the sport but encounter difficulty wearing the air tank in a facile manner against their back because of their small size. Preferably, the upper end of the flexible, pre-bowed strap is fixed to the back board and the lower end of the strap is fixed to the panel to insure the pre-bow remains in the strap regardless of the position of the back board on the diver. At all times, this inventive device is to be positioned for the bottom end of the strap to be located above the illiac crest of the diver""s torso.
  In this novel improvement, the strap may be made of plastic to reduce the likelihood of corrosive effects of the water. The cushion in the pouch, usually positioned under the strap, can also contain reticulated foam for ease in filling and draining water therefrom. Even further, the openable panel of the pouch is located at the front surface of the pouch for ease in opening it to address the strap. Another novel feature of this invention is to include means for adjusting the vertical position of the strap to compensate for divers of different length torsos. One way to achieve this improvement is to provide means for moving at least one end of strap flexible strap upward and downward on the panel. Another way is to provide means for moving both ends of the flexible strap upward and downward in unison.
  Accordingly, the main object of this invention is an improvement in scuba diving equipment wherein a pre-bowed strap is incorporated into the buoyancy compensator vest, between the air tank-mounting back board and the diver""s back to provide insurance against the tank coming into contact with the diver""s back and spine. Other objects of this invention include a buoyancy compensator that is amenable to fit a wide range of persons having a wide variety of body dimensions that, in many cases, would be incompatible with the buoyancy compensator vests currently on the market; a device that can be retrofitted on a wide variety of buoyancy compensator vests; a device that makes out-of-the-water use of the buoyancy compensator vest, such as when walking to and from the diving area, be it over a beach or on a boat, more comfortable to use; a device that prevents personal injury including injury to the kidneys from inadvertent contact between the diver and his or her solid air tank; and a device made from inexpensive materials that it can be sold at a reasonable price to be available to many divers who must control their expenses.
  These and other objects of the invention will become more clear when one reads the following specification, taken together with the drawings that are attached hereto. The scope of protection sought by the inventors may be gleaned from a fair reading of the Claims that conclude this specification.