Buoys – rafts – and aquatic devices – Water rescue or life protecting apparatus – Personal flotation device
Patent
1995-09-13
1997-09-23
Avila, Stephen
Buoys, rafts, and aquatic devices
Water rescue or life protecting apparatus
Personal flotation device
441 93, 441117, B63C 908
Patent
active
056697953
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a life float, comprising a small elongated capsule which can with the aid of a link held with a hand close to the chest of a person so that the link has been passed over a shoulder and under an arm from behind, said capsule being provided with a gas container wherewith the fill-in float included in the life float can be filled.
Floats intended for life saving purposes and filled with a small gas container have long been known in the art. A means of this type is known in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,230. However, in said means the float to be filled remains constantly unprotected. In addition, the filling of the float is started by pressing a trigger, which releases a stressed spring. To be fastened on, the apparatus also needs a secure locking system. Said means is intended to be passed around the neck.
A state of art drawback in said fillable float is that it is constantly subjected to damages when placed outdoors. Hence, the float may leak and be useless in a critical situation. In addition, the winding of the means around the neck may cause a risk of strangling. And bursting the pressure container and filling of the float happens near a person's body (for instance, in a means placed close to the carotid artery), which in a disturbance may have grave results. Also finding the trigger in an emergency situation can be difficult. On the other hand, unnecessary filling of the float is not unusual, either. Furthermore, if a float to be filled has somehow been wound before being filled, it may cause a danger of strangling in the course of filling or otherwise obstruct the movements. The means is also provided with a "triggering spring" in stressed mode before adopting the float into use, which is not a sustainable solution. The secure locking system when being fastened on also adds the manufacturing costs. And putting on the means is relatively difficult.
The objective of the present invention is to provide a means intended for life saving in which the above disadvantages have been eliminated. The aim is achieved with a means according to claim 1.
The invention is described below in detail referring to the accompanying drawing.
FIG. 1 presents the cap of a capsule and the way it is attached to the capsule.
FIG. 2 shows the parts within the capsule and particularly the functioning of the threads.
FIG. 3 illustrates the region between the gas capsule and the float to be filled.
FIGS. 4a-4f show the use of a life float capsule.
FIG. 1
The capsule has been sealed to be watertight so that the parts thereinside remain reliable in operation. The cap of the capsule resembles the bottom of a test tube in shape. The cap is provided with an 0 seal ring and thereafter, an annular bulge. The capsule is provided with a countergroove for said bulge. This system keeps the cap solidly in place, sealing it tight. A main thread runs sealedly in the middle of the cap, and a remover of pull-out is provided within the cap to reduce the penetration stress of the thread. Point 38 shows a closed capsule.
FIG. 2
The main thread within the cap of the capsule is to some extent loose a, (the reason thereto being that the cap is enabled to move aside for extracting the float, but if the pull-out force of the string has only been a "peak", and not intended, the cap can be inserted back in the capsule, with the purpose that the main thread 21 is easier to be pass over one shoulder when the float has been filled). Thereafter, the main thread 21 is provided with a joint 25 from which two out-pulling threads 22 start, being combined behind the gas capsule C. After the cap has been pulled off and the loose a is finished, the pull-out threads 22 start to pull the inside out. After the float A has been pulled out entirely, the pricking thread 24 of the gas container is stressed, thus starting the filling. Thereafter, the loose b of the thread ends, thus stopping the extraction of the inner parts.
The gas container C has been connected to part B with a support frame 23 withstanding the pulling from part B caused by
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Avila Stephen
Chong Suet M.
Nath Gary M.
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