EP2394907A2 - Submarine rescue suit - Google Patents

Abstract

The suit (4) has a connection unit for connecting an inflatable buoyancy body or an artificial respiration device to a difficult breathing air system (14) of a submarine, where the buoyancy body is supplied with air. An air supply line is led into an interior part of the suit, where a connection for the difficult breathing air system and a mouthpiece are arranged at an end of the supply line. The air supply line is formed elongatedly such that the connection for the difficult breathing air system is provided in hand region of a user of the suit.

Description

The invention relates to a submarine rescue suit.

In a Unterwasserhavarie a submarine for the crew of the submarine to a depth of about 200 m, the possibility of leaving the submarine via this usually arranged in the tower of the submarine emergency exit shaft or all suitable for this Luks at the top of the pressure hull and to emerge on the water surface.

For the emergency exit from a damaged submarine at a depth of water below about 80 m, submarine crew members have been given special submarine rescue suits, which provide buoyancy support on emergence and provide breathing air to the user on their way from the damaged submarine to the water surface.

Such a submarine rescue suit is in GB 2 441 959 A described. This submarine rescue suit completely wraps its user. Before leaving a submarine, it is necessary to fill a buoyancy collar formed on the suit with air. For this purpose, the rescue suit has an air supply connection. This air supply connection can be connected to an air supply device arranged in the emergency exit shaft of the submarine, which is arranged there specifically for the removal of persons from the submarine. After the submarine rescue suit is filled with sufficient air and inflated its buoyancy collar and after flooding the emergency exit shaft with water, an outer hatch of the emergency exit shaft can be opened and the person or persons located in the emergency exit shaft can leave the submarine and emerge on the water surface.

More problematic is the emergency exit in a submarine rescue suit at the remaining hatches of the submarine, since there is usually no suitable for connection to the air supply port of the submarine rescue suit suitable air supply device. Although the buoyancy collar of the submarine rescue suit can be filled here with an additionally entrained compressed air cylinder with air, but the user of the submarine rescue suit on the compressed air cylinder no breathing air can be supplied. For breathing, if necessary, the air remaining in the pressure body after a water ingress can still be used, provided that it is not too contaminated. This means that a person desiring to leave the submarine must keep at least one hood of the submarine rescue suit covering the head otherwise closed in order to breathe the residual air contained in the pressure body, or if that air is contaminated or the air pressure has a certain value can also breathe when the hood of the submarine rescue suit is open via an accompanying separate respirator connected to the submarine's respiratory emergency system. The fact that the submarine rescue suit must be at least partially open until shortly before the emergency exit from the submarine to the emergency air supply increases the stress situation in which the person is in front of an emergency exit from a damaged submarine per se.

Against this background, the invention has for its object to provide a submarine rescue suit, the preparation for An emergency exit via a hatch, which is not the exterior hatch of an emergency exit shaft, is simplified.

This object is achieved by a submarine rescue suit with the features specified in claim 1. Advantageous developments of this submarine rescue suit will become apparent from the dependent claims, the following description and the drawings. Here, according to the invention, the features specified in the dependent claims in each case but also in a technically meaningful combination, the inventive solution according to claim 1 further.

The submarine rescue suit of the invention is preferably a waterproof solid-body suit, i. H. a suit that completely envelops its user. However, an embodiment of the submarine rescue suit as a jacket or Jerkin is conceivable. In a known manner, the submarine rescue suit includes a head-covering, closed hood that provides a breathing air reservoir for its user and buoyancy support after exiting the submarine. Furthermore, the submarine rescue suit has an additional buoyancy body that can be filled with air, which allows a faster ascent to the water surface.

The basic idea of the invention is to design this submarine rescue suit in such a way that the respiratory emergency system usually present in a submarine, which is to be regarded as independent of the air supply device arranged in the emergency exit shaft, can be used to supply at least one and preferably all air-supplied devices of the Submarine rescue suits to provide the required air, so that prior to the emergency exit from the submarine, for example, no separate Compressed air tank or special breathing apparatus must be kept. For this purpose, the submarine rescue suit according to the invention has connection means with which at least one device of the submarine rescue suit to be supplied with air can be connected to the respiratory emergency system of the submarine. This is advantageous inasmuch as the respiratory emergency system has an air supply line extending substantially over the entire length of the submarine, at which a plurality of air extraction connections are formed at certain intervals, so that close to all the outlets suitable for an emergency exit on the pressure body, such as a Torpedobeladeluk, usually always such an air extraction connection, to which then the air to be supplied device of the submarine rescue suit can be connected with the dedicated connection means.

Particularly advantageously, such a device to be supplied with air can be a respiration device. This ventilator, unlike heretofore customary, is an integral part of the submarine rescue suit and can be conduit connected to the submarine's respiratory emergency system.

For this purpose, the submarine rescue suit preferably has an air supply line routed through the submarine rescue suit into the suit interior, the end of which is arranged outside the submarine rescue suit having a connection for the respiratory emergency system of the submarine. In the interior of the submarine rescue suit, the air supply line expediently opens in the region of the hood covering the user's head. This embodiment of the submarine rescue suit allows early in the submarine rescue suit in the waiting time before the emergency exit, ie in the time that takes place for the opening of the hatch pressure equalization between the interior and the exterior environment of the submarine to completely close, thus avoiding an otherwise additional stress situation caused by the closure of the submarine rescue suit shortly before the emergency exit.

In order to ensure an unproblematic connection of the air supply line to the connection provided for the Atemnotluftanlage the submarine, the air supply line of the ventilation device may be expediently formed at least as long that arranged on the air supply line connection for the Atemnotluftanlage the submarine always within reach of the user of Unterseebootrettungsanzugs located. Thus, the portion of the air supply conduit exiting the submarine rescue suit may e.g. be so long that the person carrying the submarine rescue suit can connect the air supply line to the respiratory emergency system with the arm extended.

The end of the air supply line located in the interior of the submarine rescue suit may eventually discharge freely into the hood of the submarine rescue suit covering the user's head. However, in order to allow a more controlled breathing of this person, at this end of the air supply line advantageously a mouthpiece may be formed so that the user of the submarine rescue suit can directly breathe the breathing air provided by the Atemnotluftanlage of the submarine.

Preferably, a pressure regulator is arranged on the input side of the mouthpiece in order to reduce the air pressure prevailing in the respiratory emergency system to the required respiratory air pressure. The position of the pressure regulator on the air supply line of the submarine rescue suit is basically arbitrary. So this pressure regulator, for example, similar to the regulator of a compressed air diving device directly on the input side the mouthpiece and thus be arranged within the suit. Optionally, however, the pressure regulator may also be provided on a section of the air supply line outside the submarine rescue suit.

Further advantageously, the air-filled device of the submarine rescue suit may be the inflatable buoyancy body formed thereon. That is, at the submarine rescue suit may be provided a line connected to the buoyancy body port which is connectable to the Atemnotluftanlage the submarine, whereby the buoyancy body can be filled with air.

The buoyant body is preferably a buoyancy collar to be filled with air, which can be conductively connected to the respiratory emergency system of the submarine via an air supply line connected thereto. This buoyancy collar is arranged in a manner known per se on an area of the submarine rescue suit which lies above the shoulder of its user. By the buoyancy collar can be connected to the Atemnotluftanlage of the submarine, in an emergency exit via a Druckkörperluk the previously carried to inflate the buoyancy collar compressed air cylinder is no longer required.

Advantageously, the submarine rescue suit according to the invention can comprise both a ventilation device and an inflatable buoyancy body, both of which can be connected with suitable connection means to the respiratory emergency system of the submarine. In this connection, two connections can be provided on the submarine rescue suit, one of which provides a line connection to the ventilation device and the other a line connection to the buoyancy body. In addition, such a configuration is conceivable in which the ventilation device and the inflatable buoyancy body are connectable only via a common connection to the Atemnotluftanlage the submarine, wherein switching means can be provided with which successively a line connection of this connection with the buoyancy body and the ventilation device can be created.

Conveniently, the submarine rescue suit according to the invention should still be suitable for the emergency exit via the emergency exit shaft of the submarine. Accordingly, like the hitherto known submarine rescue suits, it preferably has a connection to the air supply of the buoyant body, which can be connected specifically to the air supply device arranged in the emergency exit shaft. Since this connection is not compatible with the connection of the emergency respiratory supply, an adapter is advantageously provided, which can be fastened to the connectable to the air supply device of the emergency exit slot connection, whereby this connection can also be connected to the Atemnotluftanlage the submarine. Alternatively, it is possible to dispense with the connection of the buoyancy body provided specifically for connection to the air supply device arranged in the emergency exit shaft and to connect the buoyant body only to a connection which is designed for connection to the respiratory air conditioning system of the submarine. In this case, an adapter is provided which is attachable to the connection of the buoyant body and allows connection to the arranged in the emergency exit duct air supply device.

In addition, a further adapter can be provided, the design of which makes it possible to simultaneously connect a line connected to the respiration device and one to the inflatable buoyancy body line connected connection to the Atemnotluftanlage of the submarine.

Fig. 1

in stark vereinfachter schematischer Darstellung eine Person in einem Unterseebootrettungsanzug,

Fig. 2

in stark vereinfachter schematischer Darstellung in einem Abschnitt eines Unterseeboots eine Person vor dem Notausstieg,

Fig. 3

in stark vereinfachter schematischer Darstellung und vergrößert einen Anschluss einer Atemnotluftanlage aus der Einzelheit X in Fig. 2 beim Anschluss einer hierfür vorgesehenen Luftversorgungsleitung und

Fig. 4

in stark vereinfachter schematischer Darstellung und vergrößert einen Anschluss einer Atemnotluftanlage aus der Einzelheit X in Fig. 2 beim Anschluss einer zum Anschluss einer weiteren Luftversorgungsleitung.

The invention is explained in more detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawing. In the drawing shows:

Fig. 1

in a highly simplified schematic representation a person in a submarine rescue suit,

Fig. 2

in highly simplified schematic representation in a section of a submarine a person before the emergency exit,

Fig. 3

in a highly simplified schematic representation and enlarges a connection of a Atemnotluftanlage from the detail X in Fig. 2 when connecting a dedicated air supply line and

Fig. 4

in a highly simplified schematic representation and enlarges a connection of a Atemnotluftanlage from the detail X in Fig. 2 when connecting one to connect another air supply line.

Fig. 1 1 shows a person 2 in a submarine rescue suit 4. The submarine rescue suit 4 is a solid body suit made of a waterproof material that completely surrounds the person 2 therein. The submarine rescue suit 4 has a hood 6 covering the head of the person 2. Below the hood 6, ie above the shoulder of the person 2, a buoyancy collar 8 is formed on the submarine rescue suit 4. The buoyancy collar 8 is an inflatable buoyancy body, so it can, as well as the hood 6, be filled with air.

For this purpose, a first tubular air supply line 10 is connected to the buoyancy collar 8. At the free end of the supply line 10, a terminal 12 is formed. The air supply line 10 is provided for connection to an air supply device usually provided in emergency exit shafts of submarines. Correspondingly, the connection 12 of the air supply line 10 corresponds to a boat-side connection of the air supply device in the emergency exit shaft. The port 12 is not suitable for connection to an air extraction connection 16 of an emergency respiratory air system 14 (FIG. Fig.2 ) to be connected.

In order to be able to fill the buoyancy collar 8 with air at the air extraction connections 16 of the respiratory emergency system 14, a further connection 18 is provided on the submarine rescue suit 4, which is also conductively connected to the buoyancy collar 8 via an air supply line 20 in the form of a hose. The two supply lines 10 and 20 connected to the buoyancy collar 8 are formed so long that the terminals 12 and 18 arranged at the ends of these lines are within the reach of the person 2.

Furthermore, the submarine rescue suit 4 has a ventilation device for the person 2. Part of this ventilation device is a tubular air supply line 22, which is guided at a passage 24 in the region of the hood 6 in the interior of the submarine rescue suit 4. So that no air can escape from the hood 6, the air supply line 22 is sealed relative to the bushing 24 airtight. At the end of the air supply line 22 located outside the submarine rescue suit 4, a connection 26 is arranged. The connection 26 serves to be able to connect the ventilation device to the air extraction connections 16 of the respiratory emergency system 14. On the inside of the submarine rescue suit 4 arranged end of the air supply line 22 is a mouthpiece 28th arranged, which is preceded by a pressure regulator, not shown in the drawing.

At the in Fig. 2 shown portion of the pressure hull of a submarine is at a above a deck 30 arranged Druckkörperwandung 32 a Luk 34 is formed. The Luk 34 is closed pressure-tight with a lid 36. Below the Druckkörperwandung 32 runs an air supply line 38 of a Atemnotluftanlage 14 of the submarine. In a Unterwasserhavarie the submarine, the Luk 34 can be used for emergency exit from the submarine. For this purpose, an air trap 40 is disposed below the Druckkörperwandung 32, which surrounds the Luk 34 and in this way when in the pressure body incoming water, which in the Fig. 2 is sketched by the drawn there water surface 42, ensures that after opening the lid 36 in the pressure hull of the submarine remains a sufficiently large air bubble. The air supply line 38 of the respiratory emergency system 14 leads into the interior of the air trap 40. There in the interior of the air trap, an air extraction connection 16 of the respiratory emergency system 14 is formed on the air supply line 38.

In Fig. 2 is a person 2 in a submarine rescue suit 4 just before the emergency exit from the submarine standing on a ladder 44 in the air trap 40. This person 2 has just the buoyancy collar 8 and the hood 6 of their submarine rescue suit 4 by coupling the connection formed on the air supply line 20 18 filled with the air extraction port 16 of the Atemnotluftanlage 14, what also Fig. 3 becomes clear. Alternatively, it is also possible to fill the buoyancy collar 8 and the hood 6 with air by means of the connection 12 arranged on the air supply line 10 via the respiratory emergency air system 14. However, the air extraction port 16 of the Atemnotluftanlage 14 and arranged on the air supply line 10 terminal 12 are not directly with each other coupled. However, a coupling of the air extraction connection 16 with the connection 12 of the air supply line 10 is possible with an adapter 46, which is made Fig. 4 becomes clear. The adapter 46 is connectable to both the air extraction port 16 and the port 12 and forms a conduit connection from the air exhaust port 16 to the port 12.

Reference numeral List

2 -

person

4 -

Submarine rescue suit

6 -

Hood

8th -

buoyancy collar

10 -

Air supply line

12 -

connection

14 -

Shortness of breath air conditioning

16 -

Air extraction port

18 -

connection

20 -

Air supply line

22 -

Air supply line

24 -

execution

26 -

connection

28 -

mouthpiece

30 -

deck

32 -

Druckkörperwandung

34 -

Luk

36 -

cover

38 -

Air supply line

40 -

air trap

42 -

water surface

44 -

ladder

46 -

adapter

Claims (9)

Submarine rescue suit (4), characterized in that the submarine rescue suit (4) comprises connection means with which at least one device of the submarine rescue suit (4) to be supplied with air can be connected to a respiratory emergency system (14) of a submarine. Submarine rescue suit according to claim 1, characterized in that the device to be supplied with air is a ventilation device. A submarine rescue suit according to claim 2, characterized in that the submarine rescue suit (4) comprises an air supply conduit (22) led into the suit inside by the submarine rescue suit (4), the end of which is disposed outside the submarine rescue suit having a port (26) for the respiratory emergency system (14). Submarine rescue suit according to claim 3, characterized in that the air supply line (22) is formed at least so long that the connection (26) for the shortness of breath air system (14) always within reach of a user of the submarine rescue suit (4) is located. Submarine rescue suit according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that on the inside of the submarine rescue suit (4) arranged end of the air supply line (22) has a mouthpiece (28) is formed. Submarine rescue suit according to claim 5, characterized in that on the input side of the mouthpiece (28), a pressure regulator is arranged. Submarine rescue suit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device to be supplied with air is an inflatable buoyancy body formed on the submarine rescue suit (4). Submarine rescue suit according to Claim 7, characterized in that the buoyancy body is a buoyancy collar (8) to be filled with air, which can be conductively connected to the breathing air system (14) of the submarine via an air supply line (20) connected thereto. Submarine rescue suit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the buoyancy body has a connection with which the buoyancy body can be connected to an air supply connection arranged in an emergency exit shaft of the submarine, wherein an adapter (16) which can be fastened to the connection of the buoyancy body is provided the buoyant body is connectable to the Atemnotluftanlage (14) of the submarine.

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