Combination oral and cartridge inflator for life preserver vest

Claim 1

In a life preserver vest having inner and outer layers for forming an inflatable interior manifold, apparatus for inflating said vest, which comprises: a housing having an aperture therethrough affixed to one side of the vest, said aperture communicating with the interior of the vest through a hole provided in the outer layer thereof, a hose mounted to the housing and communicating with said aperture, a manually operated valve mounted in the hose for permitting gas to be blown into the hose, through the aperture and into the vest, at least one gas cartridge mounted on the housing and communicating with said aperture, means for piercing said gas cartridge, a tubular member mounted in said aperture for sealing said hose from said gas cartridge, said tubular member including a flanged end positioned on the far side of the portion of the outer layer of the vest surrounding the hole therein, a threaded end and conduit means providing separate communication to the interior of the vest from the hose and the gas cartridge, a relief valve positioned against the end of said tubular member having the threaded portion and operable to port gas from said vest to the atmosphere upon the attainment of pressure therein of more than a predetermined amount, and a cap adapted to be threaded on the threaded portion of the tubular member and clamp said vest outer layer portion between the flanged end and the housing, said cap having apertures therein to permit gas ported by the relief valve to pass therethrough to the atmosphere.