FR3004695A1 - BALANCING VEST FOR UNDERWATER DIVING COMPRISING TWO INDEPENDENT REAR ROOMS. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a scuba diving balancing vest comprising an inflatable right rear chamber (2) and an inflatable left rear chamber (3), the two said chambers being independent.

Description

UNDERWATER DIVING VEST COMPRISING TWO INDEPENDENT REAR CHAMBERS Description Technical field of the invention.

The present invention relates to a balancing vest for scuba diving comprising two independent rear chambers and the use that is made of this vest. The invention relates to the general technical field of equipment for amateur or professional submarine divers using bottles containing breathable gas. It relates more particularly to the technical field of balancing vests allowing the diver to compensate for variations in buoyancy that he undergoes given the depth at which he is, the buoyancy of his suit decreasing with depth. State of the art A balancing vest is a comfort and safety equipment. It generally consists of an inflation chamber having a determined volume. An inflation and purge system inflates or empties the inflation chamber as required to adjust the buoyancy and in particular the stabilization of the diver (100) according to the depth at which it is located and allow it to manage its evolution in diving as well as its rise to the surface. Typically, the balancing vest also serves to support the diving bottle (s), and / or a rebreather type breathing apparatus, in the back of the diver (100). In particular, the balancing vest (101) is known as described in document FR 2 948 093 (BEUCHAT INTERNATIONAL S.A.). This balancing vest (101) schematically shown in Figures 1 and 2, comprises conventionally a dorsal chamber (102) adapted to inflate by gas injection and deflate. The plunger (100) thus has the possibility of varying the volume of gas in the dorsal chamber (102) by means of a gas cylinder (110), valves and purges, so as to ensure, without effort, the maintaining a horizontal position (especially when diving) or maintaining a vertical position (especially at the surface). Nevertheless, the use of this type of balancing vest (101) during diving can be troublesome during the horizontal evolution of the plunger (100), more particularly during roll movements, that is to say rotational movements about the longitudinal axis of said plunger. Indeed, during a roll motion, the sudden displacement of the volume of air contained in the dorsal chamber (102) on one side or the other of said back chamber, as shown in Figure 2, causes a large uncomfortable attitude unbalance for the plunger (100), said imbalance being difficult to compensate by said plunger. In view of this state of affairs, the main purpose of the invention is to provide a balancing vest in which the volume of air inside the vest remains distributed on either side of the rear surface of the vest during a roll movement of the plunger (i.e. oscillating motion along the axis of said plunger). The invention also aims to provide a device / method of simple design, easy to use and inexpensive.30 Disclosure of the invention. The solution proposed by the invention is a balancing vest for underwater diving. This balancing vest is remarkable in that it comprises an inflatable right rear chamber and an inflatable left rear chamber, the two said chambers being independent. Thus, when the plunger rolls, the air can no longer move from one side to the other of the balancing vest, the air contained in the right rear chamber, respectively the rear left chamber, remaining confined to these. In fact, since the two said chambers are independent, it is therefore impossible for the air to move from one of the said chambers to the other. Other advantageous technical features of the invention are listed below, these different characteristics can be considered alone or in combination, independently of the outstanding technical characteristics defined above. According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention making it possible to increase the quantity of air contained in the balancing vest and thus to adjust the buoyancy of the diver during the dive as a function of the depth, the balancing vest comprises an inflation means configured to simultaneously inflate the right rear chamber and the left rear chamber. This characteristic also makes it possible to distribute the buoyancy symmetrically between the right and the left of the balancing vest. According to yet another advantageous feature of the invention for simultaneously inflating the right and left rear chambers from a single source of gas, the inflation means comprises a common inflation conduit connecting said gas source to the right rear chamber. and to the left back room.

The right and left rear chambers are preferably each provided with an air inlet port for inflating them, which orifices are each associated with a separating nonreturn valve whose function is to prevent the transfer of gas between said right rear chamber and said left rear chamber through the inflating duct. In order to simplify the design and optimize the space requirement, the air inlets, and possibly the flaps, can be integrated into a housing fixed to the right and left rear chambers.

According to yet another advantageous characteristic of the invention making it possible to reduce the quantity of air contained in the balancing vest and thus to adjust the buoyancy of the diver during the dive as a function of the depth, the balancing vest comprises a means of Deflation configured to simultaneously deflate the right rear chamber and the left rear chamber. This characteristic also makes it possible to maintain a symmetrical distribution of the buoyancy between the right and the left of the balancing vest. According to yet another advantageous feature of the invention for simultaneously deflating the right and left rear chambers by means of a single purge, the deflation means comprises a common deflation conduit connecting said purge to the right rear chamber and to the chamber back left.

According to yet another advantageous characteristic of the invention making it possible to avoid the degradation of the balancing vest, the latter comprises an overpressure protection means configured to deflate the right rear chamber and the left rear chamber when they are in overpressure. .

According to yet another advantageous characteristic of the invention making it possible to maintain a symmetrical distribution of buoyancy between the right and the left of the balancing vest, the overpressure protection means is configured to simultaneously deflate the right rear chamber and the chamber. back left.

The inflation means, the deflation means and the overpressure protection means may each be in the form of a housing fixed to the right and left rear chambers. But preferentially, in order to simplify the design and reduce the number of parts to be fixed on the vest, the inflation means, the deflation means and the overpressure protection means, are all integrated in a common housing, which housing is attached to the right and left rear chambers. Description of the figures.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will appear better on reading the description of a preferred embodiment which follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings, made by way of indicative and non-limiting examples and in which: 1 schematically represents a balancing vest of the prior art, - 2 schematically shows the balancing vest of Figure 1 when the plunger rolls, - Figure 3 shows schematically an embodiment. FIG. 4 schematically represents the balancing vest of FIG. 3 when the plunger rolls, FIG. 5 schematically represents an embodiment of the balancing vest. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS object of the invention, - Figure 6 schematically shows an embodiment of a means of deflation of the balancing vest object of the invention FIG. 7 diagrammatically represents an embodiment of a device for inflating or deflating the balancing vest which is the subject of the invention.

Preferred embodiments of the invention The underwater diving balancing vest (1) of the invention is intended to contain a variable volume of gas in order to balance, by buoyancy, the relative weight in water, the plunger (100) and his equipment. The goal is to control the speed of ascent and descent, as well as the stabilization between two waters at the chosen depth. Referring to Figures 3 to 5, the balancing vest (1) comprises, in known manner, a body comprising straps, one or more belts, fastening means, one or more gas sources (10). etc. Each gas source (10) may be composed of a diving cylinder filled with breathable gas, a plurality of coupled dive cylinders, a rebreather respirator, or any other gas reserve suitable for use by the job. The body of the balancing vest (1) is generally made of coated fabric (PVC, PU, ...) or any other similar waterproof material. This balancing vest (1) is remarkable in that it comprises two rear inflatable chambers. These chambers are made of the same material as the body of the vest (1) or in another waterproof material. They may for example be in the form of inflatable waterproof bladders made of PVC or PU, and integrated in a polyamide fabric, which fabric forms the body of the vest. The term "rear chamber" means that at least a portion of said rear chamber is arranged at the rear of the body of the balancing vest (1), other parts of said rear chamber can be arranged on the sides , on the top, on the underside or on the front of said body of said balancing vest. Of the two rear inflatable chambers, there is a right rear chamber (2) and a left rear chamber (3). These two rooms are independent. The term "independent" means that the gas contained in the right rear chamber (2), respectively left (3), can not flow freely to the left rear chamber (3), respectively right (2). Thus, during a rolling motion, it is impossible for the air contained in one of the chambers to move towards the other chamber as shown schematically in FIG. (4). The balance of the plunger (100) is thus maintained even during a rolling motion. Thus, its evolution in an aquatic environment becomes more comfortable. In an embodiment not shown, the balancing vest (1) may also comprise two abdominal chambers arranged at the front of the body. Each of the right (2) or left (3) rear chambers may also be divided into a plurality of inflatable sub-chambers. The rear right (2) and left (3) chambers can in particular be inflated by injecting gas from the gas source (s) (10). The right (2) and left (3) rear chambers are generally designed from sealed envelopes with a volume of 1 liter to 50 liters, see more. In practice, the right rear (2) and left (3) chambers are made of coated fabric (PVC, PU, etc.) or any other similar waterproof material, and may or may not be attached to the body by sewing, welding, by means of mechanical fasteners, or any other technique suitable to those skilled in the art. Each rear right (2) or left (3) chamber can be manufactured independently and then assembled to the body of the balancing vest. Another manufacturing technique consists in designing a single rear chamber inside which is disposed at least one membrane or sealed partition, so as to form the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3). Yet another manufacturing technique illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 consists in designing a single rear chamber in the middle of which at least one sealing weld (11) is formed so as to form the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3).

The balancing vest (1) may include inflating means for inflating the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3).

In a preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the inflation means is configured to simultaneously inflate the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3). In practice, the inflation means comprises a common inflating duct (4) connecting the gas source (10) to the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3). Pipe means any internal pipe to pipes, ducts, hoses, elbows, pneumatic devices such as valves, flow dividers, or other, or any other pipes through which a gas flows . In particular, a conduit may be composed of internal pipes to a set of elements, for example two hoses separated by a valve. In the example of FIG. 5, the inflation duct (4) is, for each of the rear right (2) and left (3) chambers, in the form of a medium pressure flexible duct, that is to say in which circulates a gas under a pressure of between 4 bar and 20 bar, connecting: the gas source (10), an expander (5), a medium pressure hose (50), to a valve (8), a low pressure duct (80), which duct is connected to the right rear chamber (2), respectively left (3), through a separation nonreturn valve (6, 7) condemning the transfer of gas said right rear chamber, respectively left, to said inflation duct. The separation check valves (6, 7) serve to prevent the transfer of gas between the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (7) via the inflation duct (4). The air inlets (60) and (70) for respectively inflating the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3) are each provided with one of the separation check valves (6, 7). These openings (60, 70) and these valves (6, 7) can be integrated in a housing, preferably rigid, which housing is fixed on the rear right (2) and left (3) chambers, in the upper or lower part of the these last.

The valve (8), operated by the plunger (100), makes it possible to transfer the expanded gas from the gas source (10) into the rear right (2) and left (3) chambers, the gas under pressure in the inflation duct (4) exerting on the separating nonreturn valves (6, 7) a sufficient effort to open said flaps. The valve (8) can be either offset relative to the vest (in which case the conduit (80) is disposed outside the vest), or integrated into said vest (in which case the conduit (80) is directly integrated into the vest ). This valve (8) can be actuated via a mechanical and / or electrical and / or pneumatic and / or hydraulic control element (9). The control member (9) can be arranged at the expander (5) or at the level of the belt of the balancing vest (1), be integrated in the body of said balancing vest or be deported at the end of a pipe, or be arranged at any other place easily accessible by the hands of the diver (100).

The balancing vest (1) may also include a deflation means for deflating the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3). In a preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the deflation means is configured to simultaneously deflate the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3). In practice, the deflation means comprises a common deflation conduit (11) connecting a purge (12) to the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3). This deflation pipe (11) can be, for each of the rear right (2) or left (3) chambers in the form of a flexible pipe at the end of which is mounted the purge (12), and connected to the right rear chamber (2), respectively left (3), through a separating nonreturn valve (13, 14) condemning the gas transfer of said deflating duct to said right rear chamber, respectively left. The separation check valves (13, 14) serve to prevent the transfer of gas between the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3) via the deflation duct (11). The purge (12) is in the form of a valve equipped with a non-return valve so that by actuating said purge, the air contained in the rear right (2) and left (3) chambers ) evacuates to the outside environment, but opposes the penetration of the external environment in said right and left rear chambers.

In practice, the ambient water does not penetrate, or in a very limited way, into the chambers (2) and (3). The purge (12) is preferably located in the upper part of the rear right (2) and left (3) chambers. However, it is possible to install this purge (or another purge) in the lower part of said chambers so as to evacuate the gas even when the plunger has its head down. Purge (12) is of the type known to those skilled in the art. The purge (12) can be actuated via a control member (15) mechanical, electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic. The control member (15) can be arranged at the level of the purge (12) or at the level of the belt of the balancing vest (1), be integrated in the body of said balancing vest or be deported at the end a pipe or cable, or be arranged at any other place easily accessible by the hands of the diver (100). According to a preferred embodiment shown diagrammatically in FIG. 6, the deflation means may be in the form of a housing, preferably rigid, fixed on the right (2) and left (3) rear chambers and which will be described in more detail. details in the following description. The housing then integrates the nonreturn valves (18, 19), generally in the form of a diaphragm or diaphragm valve. The housing also incorporates the purge (12).

The balancing vest (1) may further include an overpressure protection means configured to deflate the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3) when overpressured. In a preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the overpressure protection means is configured to simultaneously deflate the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3). In practice, the deflation means comprises a common exhaust duct (16) connecting a safety nonreturn valve (17) to the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3). This duct (16) can be associated with a safety nonreturn valve (17), and be connected to the right rear chamber (2), respectively left (3), via a check valve of separation (18, 19) condemning the transfer of gas from said conduit to said right rear chamber, respectively left. The safety non-return valve (17) comprises a resistive element (20) exerting a force opposing the opening of said valve. The intensity of this force may or may not be adjustable, for example by means of a screw. The intensity of this force is such that the safety non-return valve (17) remains closed as long as the pressure inside the right (2) or left (3) rear chambers is less than a maximum value that can vary between 0.1 bar and 0.3 bar relative to the external pressure.

In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the duct (16) is in the form of a housing, preferably rigid fixed to the right (2) and left (3) rear chambers, and making it possible to obtain a simultaneous and instantaneous deflation of said chambers in case of overpressure or purge. This housing comprises a casing (21) arranged outside the rear right (2) and left (3) chambers. A right pressure relief valve (22), of the non-return valve type, is fixed on the housing (21). This bung comprises a flange arranged inside the right rear chamber (2) so as to form a sealed connection with said chamber. This provides a tight connection between the right rear chamber (2) and the housing (21). A left pressure relief valve (23) is arranged in the same way at the left rear chamber (3). The housing also incorporates the separation check valves (18, 19), generally in the form of a diaphragm or diaphragm valve. The housing also incorporates the safety check valve (17) associated with the setting spring (20).

According to the variant embodiment shown schematically in FIG. 7, the housing also integrates the air inlet ports (60) and (70) for inflating respectively the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber ( 3). The housing is provided with a tip (800) for connecting the chambers (2, 3) with the low pressure conduit (80) above, which nozzle communicates with each of the orifices (60) and (70). These are associated with separation check valves (6, 7) condemning the transfer of gas from said right rear chamber, respectively left, to the inflation duct (80). The valves (6, 7) can be integrated in the limp, or be deported in the inflation duct (80). In the latter case, the conduit (80) has two separate inflation channels, each of these channels being dedicated to one of the rear chambers (2, 3) and being provided with one of the valves (6, 7).

Claims (12)

REVENDICATIONS1. Scuba diving vest characterized in that it comprises a right rear chamber (2) inflatable and a left rear chamber (3) inflatable, the two said rooms being independent. 2. Balancing vest according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises an inflation means configured to simultaneously inflate the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3). Balancing vest according to claim 2, wherein the inflating means comprises a common inflating duct (4) connecting a gas source (10) to the right rear chamber (2) and to the left rear chamber (3). ). 15 Balancing vest according to claim 3, wherein the right (2) and left (3) rear chambers are each provided with an air inlet (60, 70) for inflating them, which orifices each is associated with a separation check valve (6, 7) for preventing the transfer of gas between said right rear chamber (2) and said left rear chamber (7) via the inflation (4). The balancing vest of claim 4, wherein the air inlet ports (60, 70) are integrated in a housing attached to the right rear (2) and left (3) chambers. Balancing vest according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises deflation means configured to simultaneously deflate the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3). Balancing vest according to claim 6, wherein the deflation means comprises a common deflation line (11) connecting a purge (12) to the right rear chamber (2) and to the left rear chamber (3). 8. Balancing vest according to one of claims 6 or 7, wherein the deflation means is in the form of a housing attached to the right rear chambers (2) and left (3). 9. Balancing vest according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that it comprises an overpressure protection means configured to deflate the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3) when they are in overpressure. Balancing vest according to claim 6, wherein the overpressure protection means is configured to simultaneously deflate the right rear chamber (2) and the left rear chamber (3). 11. Balancing vest according to one of claims 9 or 10, wherein the overpressure protection means is in the form of a housing attached to the right rear chambers (2) and left (3). 12. Balancing vest according to claims 3, 8 and 10 taken in combination, wherein the inflation means, the deflation means and the overpressure protection means are all integrated in a common housing, which housing is fixed. on the right (2) and left (3) rear chambers.