JP3488857B2 - Automatic gas addition device for diving equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic gas addition device for a submersible used as an automatic bypass device for a semi-closed self-intake submersible, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A semi-closed self-breathing dive is equipped with a breathing bag. This breathing bag stores gas for breathing, and a diver uses the gas stored in the breathing bag for breathing. ing. When diving using such a semi-closed self-breathing dive, the volume of breathing gas stored in the breathing bag decreases as the diving depth increases, which may be insufficient for the diver's breathing volume. Further, the buoyancy is also reduced due to the reduced inner volume of the breathing bag.

As a countermeasure against this, conventionally, when the diver feels an abnormality due to an insufficient internal volume of the breathing bag, a manual bypass device is operated to forcibly add the breathing gas into the breathing bag, I have supplemented this. The timing and time to operate this bypass device are based on the experience of divers and may not be appropriate for beginners, so there was a problem that it was dangerous and it was easy to excessively consume gas in the gas cylinder. .

In addition, if the diver cannot use both hands for some reason, for example, if he or she holds tools, ropes, etc., it is difficult to operate the manual bypass device. Breathing became difficult, and problems such as insufficient buoyancy tended to occur.

In addition, "BC jackets" and dry suits are used for open scooter diving.
For jackets and dry suits, the diver felt the decrease in buoyancy at the time of diving due to his own experience, and pushed the suction button on the inflator hose to send air into the BC jacket. The same problem was occurring.

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to enable automatic addition of gas even if both hands cannot be used.
To provide a compact and lightweight automatic gas addition device for a submersible that can detect a decrease in volume in any position in water and operate stably and prevent a decrease in buoyancy caused by a decrease in volume of a bag. is there.

The present invention is suitable not only as an automatic bypass device for a semi-closed self-air intake dive, but also as an automatic buoyancy adjusting device for a BC jacket or dry suit used for open scooter diving.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a bag-shaped body for containing gas, which is connected to a gas supply system and has a large internal volume in the bag-shaped body. And a tilt valve mechanism for connecting the gas supply system and the bag-shaped body by opening the valve by contact with the constituent parts of the bag-shaped body when the internal volume of the bag-shaped body is reduced. Basic features, especially
An empty chamber communicating with the passage hole is provided in the container fixed to a part of the bag-like body for containing gas and provided with a connection portion for the gas supply source side and the passage hole, and the bag-like body is provided at the downstream end of the empty chamber. A lead-out hole is provided through a valve seat having a through hole that communicates with the body, and a valve body biased by a return spring so as to contact the valve seat in the normal state is arranged in the empty chamber. A feature is that a tiltable shaft extending through the through hole and the lead-out hole to the outside of the body is provided, and a disc-shaped tilt plate is coupled to this shaft.

The return spring is preferably made of Inconel. Examples of the bag-shaped body include a breathing bag. Further, as the bag-shaped body, a BC jacket used for open type scuba diving can be mentioned.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 show an example of a semi-closed self-intake diving system to which the automatic bypass device of the present invention is applied. B is a breathing bag as a bag-like body, C is a submersible body, and a carbon dioxide absorption device J is stored in the casing of the submersible body C. A gas cylinder D filled with a mixed gas of nitrogen and oxygen, pressure regulators E1 and E2 of several stages, a flow regulator F, a manual bypass valve I, and the like are provided in the submersible body. M is a mouthpiece. The automatic bypass device according to the invention is indicated by the symbol A, is equipped on the breathing bag B and is connected to the discharge side of the pressure regulator E2 by a connecting hose a.

FIGS. 3 to 5 show the details of the automatic bypass device A, which has a tilt valve mechanism mounted in the breathing bag B so that one half of the breathing bag B is projected, and when the inner volume of the breathing bag B becomes small. The breathing bag B is pressed against the wall of the breathing bag B to open the breathing bag B, and breathing gas can be automatically added to the breathing bag.

More specifically, reference numeral 1 denotes a body, which has a shaft-shaped main portion 10 extending outward through a hole provided in the breathing bag B, and a lower collar portion 11 having an inner wall portion of the breathing bag B. It is fixed to the breathing bag B by a screw 100 that comes into contact with b1 and is screwed through the fixing ring 2 that is brought into contact with the outer wall portion b2.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a passage member connected to a passage portion provided at an end portion of the shaft-shaped main portion 10 of the body 1, and the passage member 3
The connecting member 4 is attached to the shaft-shaped main portion 10 in an intersecting manner. The end of the connection hose a is connected to the connection member 4. The container body 1 has a vacant chamber 12 formed by expanding from a shaft-shaped main portion 10 to a collar portion 11,
The vacant chamber 12 communicates with the passage hole 30 of the passage member 3.

Reference numeral 5 is a valve seat member fixed to the lower surface of the collar portion 11 with a screw 53, and has a cylindrical protrusion 50 which fits into the chamber from the opening of the chamber 12. This protrusion 5
In No. 0, the valve seat 51 is provided in the center of the top portion, and the outlet port 52 communicating with the inside of the breathing bag B is provided on the downstream side of the valve seat 51. The protrusion valve seat 51 has a trapezoidal or curved cross section, and protrudes from the top surface of the protrusion 50 by a required dimension.
A through hole 510 communicating with the outlet hole 52 is provided at the center of the valve seat 51.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a valve element arranged in the empty chamber, and has a seat surface 60 having a larger cross-sectional area than the valve seat 51 on the lower end surface. The seat surface 60 is made of synthetic rubber such as urethane rubber and is fixed to the valve body.

Reference numeral 7 is a return spring, one end of which is supported by the ceiling of the vacant chamber and the lower end of which abuts against the lower end flange of the valve body, whereby the valve body 6 is urged and the through hole 510 is normally opened. It is adapted to be seated on the valve seat 51 so as to be closed. The return spring 7 has a good spring characteristic and is made of a material having a non-magnetic property, preferably Inconel. Further, all parts (including screws) other than the return spring 7 are made of a non-ferrous material.

The valve body 6 has a sufficient gap between itself and the through hole 510, and further has a shaft 8 which extends through the lead-out hole 52 and extends to the outside of the valve seat member 5. Reference numeral 9 is a tilt plate positioned so as to face the valve seat member 5 of the body 1, and the shaft 8 is coupled to the central portion thereof. The tilt plate 9 has a disk shape, and a plurality of window holes 90 are arranged around the central portion. The tilt plate 9 and the valve body 6 are connected by a shaft 8, and when the tilt plate 9 is tilted, the valve body 6 is also tilted at the same angle.

[0018]

The device A of the present invention is mounted on the breathing bag B as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and is connected to the discharge side of the pressure regulator E2 via the connection hose a. The breathing bag B is loaded with the gas from the gas cylinder D via a flow rate adjusting valve and a carbon dioxide absorbing device J. At the time of diving, the exhalation of the diver is introduced into the breathing bag B via the mouthpiece M and the exhalation tube as shown in FIG. 6, and when the diver inhales,
Breathing is performed in the circulatory system that inhales the breathing gas stored in the breathing bag B.

When there is sufficient breathing gas in the breathing bag B, the breathing bag B is inflated as shown in FIG. 3, and the bag wall b3 corresponding to the back surface of the tilt plate 9 and the tilt plate 9 are separated from each other. . Therefore, the valve body 6 is brought into close contact with the valve seat 51 by the spring force of the return spring 7. Therefore, the through hole 510 of the valve seat 51 is closed and reaches the passage hole 30 and the vacant chamber 12. The breathing gas does not flow into the outlet 52. Therefore, no breathing gas is added to the breathing bag B.

When the diving depth increases and the inner volume of the breathing bag B decreases due to water pressure, the tilt plate 9 comes into contact with the bag wall b3. When the inner volume of the breathing bag B further decreases,
When the contact between the tilt plate 9 and the bag wall b3 becomes strong and the set force of the return spring 7 is overcome, the tilt plate 9, the shaft 8 and the valve body 6 move, pushing up the return spring 7 as shown in FIG. The body 6 is separated from the valve seat 51.

As a result, the through hole 510 of the valve seat 51 is opened and the vacant chamber 12 and the outlet hole 52 communicate with each other, so that the breathing gas flows into the breathing bag B. In this way, when the breathing gas is added and the internal volume of the breathing bag B increases, the bag wall b3
Is separated from the tilt plate 9, the valve body 6 is again seated on the valve seat 51 by the spring force of the return spring 7, and the through hole 510 is closed, so that the addition of the breathing gas is automatically stopped.

The tilt plate 9 has a disk shape, and a shaft 8 is coupled to a central portion of the tilt plate 9. The shaft 8 passes through the lead-out hole 52 with a large allowance and passes through the through hole 510 with a allowance, and can be tilted. Is. Therefore, the valve body 6 is partially separated from the valve seat 51 by not only the axial pressing but also the pressing from the inclined direction as shown in FIG. 5, and the through hole 510 is opened. Therefore, breathing bag B
It can be operated reliably even if the water depth at which is located is not uniform and different, and the addition / stopping of breathing gas can be stably achieved regardless of the posture of the diver in the water.

Due to its characteristics, the semi-closed self-air intake submersible is often used for military purposes, and when it is used for mine sweeping, it is indispensable to lower the acoustic characteristics and magnetic characteristics. Therefore, we used non-ferrous material for the material of the submersible, but the return spring 7
I used stainless steel. There is a material that is a non-magnetic material in stainless steel, which is generally a non-magnetic material, but when processed into a spring, something that reacts to magnetism may appear during the manufacturing process, Complete non-magnetic properties were not feasible.

For this reason, nonferrous metals such as phosphor bronze and beryllium are used for the spring. However, although the nonmagnetic property is good, there is a restriction on the spring property and an accurate spring load cannot be obtained. In the present invention, however, since the return spring 7 is made of Inconel, it is possible to realize a non-magnetic and highly accurate spring characteristic, and thereby an automatic gas addition device for a submersible having a magnetic characteristic close to zero value. Can be

[0025]

According to the first aspect of the present invention described above, the gas can be automatically added even when both hands cannot be used, and the operation is performed by sensing the decrease in the volume of the bag. It is possible to prevent the decrease in buoyancy caused by the decrease, and it is easy, small and lightweight, and has an excellent effect that it can stably operate in water in any posture and can automatically add gas.

According to the second aspect, since the return spring is made of Inconel, it is possible to realize the non-magnetic, accurate and high-load spring characteristics required for the automatic bypass device, and the return spring has almost zero value. The excellent effect of being able to be an automatic gas addition device for a submersible having close magnetic properties is obtained. According to the third aspect, in the breathing bag of the semi-closed self-inhalation dive, it is excellent that the appropriate breathing gas can be automatically added to the diver's breathing volume and buoyancy according to the diving depth. The effect is obtained. According to the fourth aspect, it is possible to obtain an excellent effect that the buoyancy can be automatically adjusted according to the depth of the BC jacket or the dry suit used for the open type scuba diving with a simple structure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of a semi-closed self-intake submersible to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a rear view showing an example of a semi-closed self-intake diving system to which the present invention is applied, with a cover removed.

FIG. 3 (a) is a vertical cross-sectional side view of a semi-closed self-intake submersible automatic bypass device to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 3 (b) is a partially enlarged view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view showing a state of the device of the present invention when the volume of the breathing bag is reduced in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view showing an operating state of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of a semi-closed self-intake submersible to which the device of the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

B bag-like body 1 body 6 valve body 7 Return spring 8 axes 9 Tilt plate 12 vacant rooms 30 passage holes 51 valve seat 52 Outlet hole 510 through holes

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bag-shaped body for containing gas is connected to a gas supply system, and when the internal volume of the bag-shaped body is large, the gas supply system and the bag-shaped body are cut off to reduce the internal volume of the bag-shaped body. A tilt valve mechanism for opening the valve by contact with the constituent parts of the bag-shaped body to communicate the gas supply system and the bag-shaped body when the tilt valve mechanism is
A vacant chamber (12) communicating with the passage hole (30) in a container (1) fixed to a part of a bag-like body (B) for containing gas and provided with a connection portion for the gas supply source side and the passage hole (30). ) Is provided, and a lead-out hole (52) is provided at the downstream end of the empty chamber (12) via a valve seat (51) having a through hole (510) communicating with the bag-like body. ) Is provided with a valve body (6) which is normally urged by a return spring (7) so as to come in contact with the valve seat (51).
Is provided with a tiltable shaft (8) which extends through the through hole (510) and the outlet hole (52) and extends to the outside of the body, and the plate-shaped tilt plate (9) is coupled to this shaft (8). The automatic gas addition device for the submersible, which is characterized by 2. A return spring (7) in which the body, the valve body, the shaft and the tilt plate are each made of a non-magnetic material.
The automatic gas addition device for a submersible according to claim 1, wherein is made of Inconel. 3. The automatic gas addition device for a submerged device according to claim 1, wherein the bag-like body (B) is a breathing bag of a semi-closed self-inhalation diving device. 4. The automatic gas addition device for a diving machine according to claim 1, wherein the bag-like body (B) is a BC jacket or a dry suit used for open scooter diving.