Buoys – rafts – and aquatic devices – Water rescue or life protecting apparatus – Personal flotation device
Utility Patent
1998-10-02
2001-01-02
Basinger, Sherman (Department: 3612)
Buoys, rafts, and aquatic devices
Water rescue or life protecting apparatus
Personal flotation device
C114S345000, C441S041000
Utility Patent
active
06168487
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inflatable structure, in particular a life float, of the type equipped with an inflation gas source, preferably a CO
2
cylinder, and, departing therefrom, a distribution channel system for supplying the gas to a plurality of inflation inlets on the packed together structure.
2. Description of Related Art
For life floats and similar equipment it is very important that the inflation can be effected quite rapidly after opening of the valve of the gas cylinder, and for large size structures it is, therefore, a practical necessity that the gas cylinder is connected to more inflation inlets located with noticeable mutual spacing. This requirement is owing to the fact that the associated vivid evaporation of the CO
2
liquid from the cylinder produces a strong cooling, whereby the product introduced into the structure at the inflation inlets will be particles of frozen CO
2
liquid, the so-called CO
2
snow. For the desired evaporation, heat should be conveyed from the surroundings, and if the entire amount of inflation gas is let in at only a single inlet there will be a high risk of insufficient heat supply to that place; the inlet area may end up as one big ice lump, from which the gas will be only slowly generated. If, on the other hand, the gas liquid is supplied to several different areas, many times more heat can then be attracted from the close surroundings to the total amount of the supplied gas, and it is then practically possible to get down to the prescribed, relatively brief inflation times, e.g. three minutes for a large size life float, even with the use of a single gas cylinder.
On this background it is a conventional practice that the relevant units appear with a suitably placed gas cylinder with an easily accessible valve and with one or more associated hoses extending to the different inlet places, which should be located mutually spaced by at least a half or a whole meter. Thus, it is characteristic that the units present a hose system, which may be more or less well anchored to the inflatable structure, but in any case reveals itself as a problematic excrescence on the structure.
It should be mentioned that there are already known some types of internal distribution systems, e.g. as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,993,217, which, however, act to distribute the gas which has already entered the gaseous phase. In that connection it is a purpose to protect the rubber wall against the chilling shock that may occur at the injection area, but this does not change the fact that it is still at this local area the whole amount of gas is brought to evaporate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
With the invention it has been recognized that a relevant inlet area should not necessarily be a place where the injection is effected across an outer surface forming wall of the inflatable structure itself, inasfar as it is possible to establish an internal distribution system, such that an exteriorly placed gas cylinder, accessible for inspection and replacement, when needed, should only be tube or hose connected with one throughlet, from which a distribution channel system may then be branched off to extend internally in the structure, debouching at a number of different places. For the discussed conditions with respect to the conveying of heat from the close surroundings it is fully unimportant whether the gas supply is effected through a conventional injection opening through the wall of the structure or through the mouthing of a hose inside the structure. On the other hand, however, it will be an important improvement that the outside of the structure will no longer exhibit the said disturbing excrescences which, in emergency situations, may give rise to serious problems.
On this background it should be stressed that in connection with the invention the relevant purpose is to distribute the liquid gas medium, i.e. with the use of relatively narrow channels or hoses just as in connection with the known exteriorly placed distribution systems. Already in connection with a branched off hose system it will be possible to achieve a certain evaporation of the gas medium, viz. at each widening of the cross section of the flow, although this will be less significant as long as the actual cross sections are substantially the same as the one occurring at the outlet from the gas cylinder. Put another way, by coordinating the hose diameter and the number and size outlets from the hose system into the inflatable body to the size of the outlet from the liquified inflation gas cylinder, evaporative freezing of the liquified inflation gas can be prevented.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2993217 (1961-07-01), Switlik
patent: 3142850 (1964-08-01), De Boer
patent: 3359579 (1967-12-01), Reffell et al.
patent: 3608114 (1971-09-01), Middleton et al.
patent: 1562245 (1969-04-01), None
Basinger Sherman
Nixon & Peabody LLP
Safran David S.
Thanner & Co. A/S
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