Buoyancy compensator

Claim 1

An improved buoyancy pillow for a free diver and of the type characterized as including an inflatable bladder adapted to be secured exclusively against the ventral side of the torso of the diver''s body and sized to be positioned entirely within the zone between the shoulders and crotch, comprising front and rear panels for said inflatable bladder formed from rubberized fabric material, means interconnecting said panels in an air and watertight manner, the upper portion of said front and rear panels being joined together along a contour which is centrally, inwardly recessed defining a clearance space for the diver''s neck and chin and establishing spaced apart shoulder protrusions adapted to lay along the diver''s shoulders, a flexible inflation hose connected at one end to said front panel at one of said shoulder protrusions, the other end of said hose terminating in a mouthpiece assembly including manually actuable valve means serving to permit the entry and exhaust of air with respect to said bladder, pressure release valve means mounted in the sidewall of said bladder and being responsive to a positive pressure differential between the internal and external pressures on said bladder for automatically permitting air discharge from said bladder at a pre-established pressure differential, said means interconnecting said front and rear panels being formed so that in longitudinal cross section said bladder tapers from a narrow section at the top to a wide cross section at the bottom providing said bladder with a center of buoyancy located in the lower one-third portion, and strap assembly means secured to said bladder against the torso of the diver entirely within the above defined zone.