EP4684839A1

EP4684839A1 - Portable rescue equipment

Info

Publication number: EP4684839A1
Application number: EP25188508.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Massimo MAZZARO; Giacomo RORATO; Maurizio ZUANON
Original assignee: Edilgrappa Srl
Current assignee: Edilgrappa Srl
Priority date: 2024-07-26
Filing date: 2025-07-09
Publication date: 2026-01-28

Abstract

Portable rescue equipment, of a type comprising:
- a tool (24) equipped with at least one part that moves with respect to another part of the tool itself to perform a predefined intervention on an object,
- an actuator (10) mechanically connected to said moving part of said tool (24) for its movement in both directions, which correspond to an active stroke for carrying out said intervention and a return stroke to bring said moving part of the tool (24) back to its initial condition,
- an electric motor (4) associated with said actuator for its operation,
- a rechargeable electric battery to power said electric motor (4) ,
characterized in that it comprises:
- elastic means (30) associated with said moving part of said tool (24) and configured to be automatically loaded during said return stroke and to make the same moving part perform a stroke of approach to said object when they are unloaded, and
- means for decoupling said moving part of said tool from said actuator during said approach stroke, and for coupling said moving part to said actuator at the end of said approach stroke until the end of said active stroke and during said return stroke.

Description

The present invention relates to a portable rescue equipment.
Equipment such as shears, spreaders, rescue jacks and similar are known, used by firefighters, civil protection personnel, etc. for civilian use, as well as by special forces such as the police, militar police, breachers, etc.
Regardless of the particular configuration of known portable rescue equipment and the operators who use them, they typically comprise an operating head equipped with a tool configured to perform the specific job, for which the equipment is dedicated, and a unit to drive the operating head.
In the particular case of hydraulically operated rescue equipment, the operating head is equipped with a tool operated by a hydraulic cylinder, which in turn is supplied with pressurized oil by a pump, which may belong to an external control unit, to which the equipment is connected via a suitable pipe, or may belong to the equipment itself and may be operated manually or by an electric motor powered by a battery.
Portable hydraulic rescue equipment with an external control unit has practically no power limits on the pump that supplies the oil under pressure but is inconvenient and difficult to use due to the need to be connected to a fixed unit, unlike portable hydraulic equipment with a pump, which is more practical and convenient, as it does not need to be connected to a fixed external unit. However, if these portable equipment are equipped with a manually operated hydraulic pump, such as the equipment described in CN110860049 , in EP08877637 and in EP1537933 , they are silent but are rather slow and unsuitable for carrying out interventions, in which speed is an essential requirement; if, on the other hand, they are equipped with a pump powered by an independent electric motor, they combine total operational autonomy with rapid intervention and for this reason they are the most widespread.
However, a drawback of these well-known portable equipment with a pump powered by an independent electric motor, such as the equipment according to US 8800343 , is the high noise level of the electric motor that drives the pump, a noise level that is linked to the high speed that the electric motor must have in order to be of small dimensions and to be able to drive a small pump but capable of reaching the high pressures required.
While this noise is acceptable in certain situations, as it does not entail any contraindications for the effectiveness of the intervention, in other situations, for example when the intervention must be carried out in conditions of confidentiality, the noise constitutes an unwanted limitation that should be avoided as much as possible.
The same problem also occurs in the case of portable electromechanical equipment, in which the tool is powered by an electric motor mounted on the equipment itself and powered by a battery, also mounted on the equipment. In this case too, in fact, the electric motor must be small in size so as not to compromise the requirement of portability of the equipment, but at the same time it must be able to develop high power and therefore must be able to be operated at high speeds, with consequent high noise.
An aim of the invention is to eliminate these drawbacks and to propose a portable rescue equipment that reduces the noisy intervention time to the bare minimum.
Another aim of the invention is to propose an equipment that is autonomous in its operation.
Another aim of the invention is to propose a device that is fast in its intervention.
Another aim of the invention is to propose equipment that is externally very similar to the corresponding traditional equipment, and therefore does not require different control methods.
Another aim of the invention is to propose equipment that can function using tools of a similar type to those used in traditional rescue equipment.
All these aims and others that will result from the following description can be jointly or separately achieved according to the invention with a portable rescue equipment as defined in claim 1.
The present invention is further clarified below in some of its practical embodiments reported for purely exemplary and non-limiting purposes with reference to the attached tables of drawings, in which:

Figure 1: shows a perspective view from below of a portable rescue equipment according to the invention equipped with a shear-type operating head with two blades in open configuration,
Figure 2: shows it in plan from above with the two blades in closed configuration,
Figure 3: shows it in lateral view in the same configuration as Fig. 2 and with the lower part partially sectioned, and
Figure 4: shows its hydraulic diagram.

The following description and the drawings to which it refers concern a hydraulic rescue equipment, but the invention also concerns non-hydraulic equipment, i.e. equipment in which the tool is operated by an electric motor with the interposition of kinematic mechanisms suitable for transforming the rotational motion of the electric motor into the operational motion of a tool intended to carry out a predefined intervention with the required modalities.
With reference, however, to the attached figures, the portable rescue equipment according to the invention comprises a drive unit 2 with an electric motor 4, which operates a pump 6 inserted in a hydraulic circuit 8 supplying an actuator 10 consisting of a cylinder, inside which slides a piston 12 for operating an operating head 14, also belonging to the drive unit 2.
The drive unit 2 also includes a rechargeable battery (not shown) to power the electric motor 4 via a switch associated with a ring 18 which can be operated by an operator who supports the portable equipment via a handle 20.
The same ring 18, in addition to activating the switch that connects the battery 16 to the electric motor 4, is mechanically linked to the cursor of a distributor 22 , inserted in the hydraulic circuit 8 supplying the actuator 10, and depending on its direction of rotation it controls the movements in one direction or the other of the cursor of the distributor 22 to make the appropriate connections with the pipes that lead to it.
In the example illustrated, a tool consisting of a shear with two blades 24 articulated to each other and movable in opposite directions both in approach (active stroke) and in withdrawal (return stroke) is applied to the operating head 14. However, in general the tool can also be of a different type (for example a spreader or an emergency jack or other) but in any case it will always comprise a movable part, which can be single or multiple, and which is movable with respect to a fixed part, by means of which the operating head 14 is fixed to the drive unit 2.
In the case illustrated here, however, in which the tool consists of a shear with two movable blades 24, each blade is articulated in a traditional manner to the structure of the operating head 14 and is at the same time connected to the piston rod 12, which in this way causes, with its axial movements in both directions inside the cylinder 10, the active stroke and the return stroke of the two blades 24, as will be better disclosed later.
To the same part of the operating head 14, which is connected to the piston rod 12 and is movable in solidarity with it, a pin 28 is applied which preferably protrudes downwards when the shears are held with the blades 24 horizontal and with the handle 20 facing upwards.
This pin 28 is connected to a spring, which in the example shown consists of a gas spring 30 arranged longitudinally and covered by a metal protection 32. In this case the pin 28 is connected to the piston rod which forms the gas spring 30.
The gas spring 30 has also been illustrated for the purpose of example, as it could be replaced by a spring of another type, for example a metal spring, provided that it is suitable for the purpose and that is capable of being loaded, as will be seen better later, during the return stroke of the two blades 24, to then return the accumulated energy at another time and more precisely to cause the initial section of the working stroke of the blades themselves, in particular the section of the working stroke which can be defined as "idle" in the sense that it brings the blades themselves close to the object, on which they will then have to operate.
The hydraulic circuit 8 of the equipment according to the invention, indicated in figure 4, in addition to comprising the distributor 22, placed between the hydraulic pump 6 and the actuator 10, and in addition to comprising the usual components which are present in circuits of this type used in most traditional portable rescue equipment, and which consists in particular of pressure limiting valves 34 and unlockable and pilot-operated check valves 36, also comprises two further interception valves 38, placed between the distributor 22 and the two chambers 40,40' of the cylinder of the actuator 10, preferably in proximity to the two chambers themselves.
Each shut-off valve 38 is equipped with a switch movable between a position, at which it connects the distributor 22 with the respective chamber 40,40' of the actuator cylinder 10, and a position, at which it connects that chamber with the exhaust.
Since both the shut-off valves 38 must be controlled simultaneously, as will be better seen later, it is preferable that they are mechanically connected to each other so as to ensure, with a single manual maneuver, the simultaneity of their actuation. The drawings illustrate a lever 42 for actuating each shut-off valve 38 but the invention also provides for the possibility of having a single lever for actuating both the shut-off valves 38 or even different manual actuation methods, which however must act simultaneously on both valves.
The operation of the portable rescue equipment according to the invention can be better understood if we start from the rest condition, illustrated in the hydraulic diagram 8 of fig. 4.
In that condition, the shears are closed, that is, their two blades 24 are close to each other, as illustrated for example in fig. 2, and furthermore the pin 28 is in its most advanced position and the gas spring 30 is unloaded or in any case in its least loaded condition.
Always in this rest condition, the switch, which is inserted in the power supply circuit of the electric motor 4 and can be operated via the ring nut 18, is open and the pump 6 is stopped.
If the operator now intends to use the equipment, he supports it with one hand at the handle 20 and with the other hand at a second handle 44, of which the operating head 14 is generally provided. With the equipment thus supported, the operator operates the ring nut 18 with the thumb of the hand that supports the handle 20 in the direction that causes the opening of the shears and that is the mutual distancing of the two blades 24.
This operation involves two different effects and in particular the closing of the switch inserted in the power supply circuit of the electric motor 4, which operates the pump 6, and the movement of the cursor of the distributor 22 in the direction of connecting through the two interception valves 38 the delivery of the pump 6 with the chamber 40 of the actuator cylinder 10 and the return of the pump 6 with the chamber 40', so that the pump 6 operated by the electric motor 4 causes the movement of the piston 12 in the direction of the opening of the shears and that is in the direction of the mutual distancing of the two blades 24 .
At this stage, the same distancing movement of the two blades also causes the movement of the pin 28 in the direction of loading the gas spring 30.
When the two blades 24 are completely open, the operator can bring them closer to the object to be cut and can then act on the two interception valves 38 to put both the two chambers 40,40' of the actuator cylinder 10 in communication with the exhaust. In this way, he allows the elastic reaction of the gas spring 30, previously loaded, to cause the two blades 24 of the shears to approach the object to be cut with a silent movement, given that in this phase the electric motor 4 is inactive.
Subsequently, the operator, after having brought the interception valves 38 back into operating condition, operates the ring nut 18 to cause the actual intervention of the shears on the object to be cut. This operation also has two effects and in particular the new closing of the switch inserted in the power supply circuit of the electric motor 4, which operates the pump 6, and the movement of the cursor of the distributor 22 in the direction of connecting the delivery of the pump 6 with the chamber 40 of the cylinder of the actuator 10 and the return of the pump 6 with the chamber 40', so that the pump 6 operated by the electric motor 4 causes the movement of the piston 12 in the direction of the complete closure of the two blades 24 of the shears and the consequent cutting of the object placed between them.
At the end of the cutting operation, the operator can act again on the ring nut 18 but in the opposite direction to cause the reopening of the two blades 24 of the shear and the preparation of the equipment for the next intervention.
In the illustrated embodiment, the two shut-off valves 38, which must both be operated to cause the two blades 24 of the shears to approach the object to be cut, are operated by means of the respective levers 42, but since they must be operated simultaneously, as has been said, it is preferable that they are connected to each other so that their operation requires a single manoeuvre.
The invention also provides for solutions not specifically illustrated but nevertheless configured to perform the same functions, and for example also provides for the use of a double valve intended to act on the two different circuits and provided with a single control organ. Furthermore, the invention also provides for the use of springs other than gas springs, for example metal springs, which are loaded during the return stroke of the tool in its intervention cycle, to then cause in the subsequent intervention cycle the initial idle section of the active stroke of the tool itself, i.e. its approach stroke to the object on which to operate.
As already specified, the invention does not only concern portable equipment with hydraulic operation, but also portable equipment of other types, for example electromechanical equipment, in which the tool is operated by an electric motor through a kinematic mechanism that significantly reduces the operating speed of the electric motor and at the same time increases its instantaneous force. Also in this case, as in the case of the hydraulic equipment previously described, the invention exploits the return stroke of the tool to load a spring, which in the subsequent intervention causes with its discharge the initial empty section of the active stroke of the tool, before it completes the remaining section of its active stroke on the object on which it must operate following the activation of the electric motor.
From what has been said and independently of the embodiment adopted, in any case the present invention appears to be much more advantageous than traditional solutions, since it provides that the movement of the tool in the initial section of its active stroke, i.e. in the section of approach to the object on which to operate, i.e. in the section in which the force necessary for the actual intervention is not yet required, is due to the elastic reaction of a spring loaded during a previous return stroke and therefore in a totally silent form very different from that caused by the tool actuator.

Claims

Portable rescue equipment, of a type comprising:
- a tool (24) equipped with at least one part that moves with respect to another part of the tool itself to perform a predefined intervention on an object,

- an actuator (10) mechanically connected to said moving part of said tool (24) for its movement in both directions, which correspond to an active stroke for carrying out said intervention and a return stroke to bring said moving part of the tool (24) back to its initial condition,

- an electric motor (4) associated with said actuator for its operation,

- a rechargeable electric battery to power said electric motor (4) , characterized in that it comprises:

- elastic means (30) associated with said moving part of said tool (24) and configured to be automatically loaded during said return stroke and to make the same moving part perform a stroke of approach to said object when they are unloaded, and

- means for decoupling said moving part of said tool from said actuator during said approach stroke, and for coupling said moving part to said actuator at the end of said approach stroke until the end of said active stroke and during said return stroke.
Equipment according to claim 1 characterized in that said actuator (10) is of the hydraulic type and is powered by a pump (6) driven by said electric motor (4).
Equipment according to claim 1 characterized in that said actuator (10) is of the mechanical type and comprises a speed reducing kinematic mechanism operated by said electric motor (4).
Equipment according to claim 2, characterised in that said hydraulic actuator (10) comprises a cylinder, which houses inside it a piston (12), which divides the internal cavity of the cylinder itself into two chambers (40,40'), fed through a distributor (22) by the pressurized fluid pushed by said pump (6), and further characterized in that between said distributor (22) and said chambers (40,40') there are interception valves (38) configured in such a way that for one of their positions, which corresponds to said approach stroke of said mobile part of the tool (24), the fluid connection of said distributor (22) and of both said chambers (40,40') with the exhaust is established, and for another of their positions, the fluid connection of said distributor (22) is established with the chamber (40,40') which controls said piston (12) to operate said tool (24) in the sense of moving it in both directions.
Equipment according to claim 4 characterized in that said shut-off valves (38) interposed between said distributor (22) and said chambers (40,40') are configured to be operated simultaneously.
Equipment according to one or more of the preceding claims characterized in that said elastic means (30) are constituted by at least one gas spring.
Equipment according to claim 6 characterized in that said elastic means (30) are constituted by at least one gas spring coupled to said moving part of said tool (24) and loadable during the return stroke of said tool.
Equipment according to claim 7 characterized in that said gas spring (30) comprises a cylinder and a piston which slides within said cylinder and is provided with an element (28) protruding from said cylinder and integral with said moving part of said tool (24).
Equipment according to one or more of the preceding claims characterized in that said shut-off valves (38) are manually operated.
Equipment according to claim 1 characterized in that said elastic means (30) comprise at least one metal spring.