Bodily-injury protective garments and techniques

Abstract

Bodily-injury protective garments with enclosures have been described, particularly for children and the vulnerable elderly. Children have been portrayed wearing injury protective goggles, and inflatable garments for the neck, breast, hips, knees and wrists. To reduce the bulkiness of some of the larger garments, such as the one around one's hips, an inner tube with high pressure fluid is introduced. This inner tube is susceptible to breakage and its high pressure fluid discharged when intense pressure or bending is exerted upon it, such as would occur when one falls upon the garment. An alternate technique of its fracturing and discharging fluid, is to provide a check valve at the tube's outlet neck, so when high pressure is exerted upon the check valve's exterior, its high pressure fluid would be discharged into the garment's enclosure, inflating it further, for further bodily protection from injury. An elderly man has been portrayed with garments for the neck, the breast, the hips, knees, ankles and the two wrists. Hence, if he should fall, less injury to his body parts would be sustained, if any. In addition, should either a child or an adult fall into a pool or lake, the inflated garments would provide buoyancy, helping to keep him afloat.

I claim:  
     
         1 . Decorative bodily-injury protective garments for a person exposed to physically precarious situations, providing protection to one's vulnerable body portions, including one's neck, breast, hips, knees and ankles, wherein said garments, each one having an outer annular, inflatable enclosure and being partially air-inflated, said enclosure having one or more inner noninflatable tubes with high pressure air for further inflating said enclosure when subjected to an impact, said tubes fracturing, thus allowing said high pressure to further inflate said enclosure.  
     
     
         2 . Decorative bodily-injury protective garments in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said enclosure and each of said inner tubes being filled with helium gas.  
     
     
         3 . Decorative bodily-injury protective garments in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said enclosure being fitted with strips of hook and loop ends for fastening together securely said enclosure around each of said body portions.  
     
     
         4 . Decorative bodily-injury protective garments in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said enclosure having two portions, each of said portions having two ends, said portions tied together into a single annular enclosure by two wide elastic bands, each of said bands being firmly fastened to two of said ends.  
     
     
         5 . Decorative bodily-injury protective garments in accordance with  claim 4 , wherein said enclosure has one portion and two ends, each of said ends having a single wide elastic band fastened to it, enabling said enclosure to be annular.  
     
     
         6 . Decorative bodily-injury protective garments in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein each of said non-inflatable tubes having a neck with an opening for introducing air to said tube, said neck including a check valve to prevent air from leaving said tube, except when air surrounding said neck is higher in pressure than the air inside each of said tubes.  
     
     
         7 . Decorative bodily-injury protective garments in accordance with  claim 6 , wherein provision being provided that after each of said tubes having been filled with relatively high pressure air, when said check valve being opened the second time to relieve air, said valve remaining in an opened position.  
     
     
         8 . Decorative bodily-injury protective garments in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said enclosure and said inner tubes being fire resistant.  
     
     
         9 . Decorative bodily-injury protective garments in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein said enclosure is air inflatable only at its outside half portion, so as not to apply pressure to said person's body portions when further inflated by said inner noninflatable tubes.