JP5826344B1 - Buoyant body and life jacket using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A novel buoyancy body that can be stored in a light and compact state and that automatically expands when used and quickly has a predetermined shape, and a life jacket using the buoyancy body. A buoyancy body including a soft elastic foam sheet and a waterproof exterior bag body having an on-off valve serving as an air intake port and an exhaust port and containing the foam sheet. 1. The foam sheet has a large number of convex portions 21 and concave portions 22 on one or both sides, and the air in the exterior bag body is exhausted from the on-off valve with the on-off valve opened. However, when it is compressed from one end 1a and wound, it becomes a wound body. The wound body is restrained and maintained in a wound state by a restraining member, and the restraint by the restraining member is released with the on-off valve opened. Then, the wound body is restored to its original shape by the restoring elasticity, and is autonomously expanded. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a buoyant body that expands autonomously during use and a life jacket using the same.

  Conventionally, buoyancy bodies (floating bags) filled with gas have been used as swimming aids in the sea, rivers, etc., and when this is used as a life jacket, buoyancy is imparted to the body by wearing it. , You can float your body in the water. Such a buoyancy body is normally stored in a compact state by folding or winding it without filling the gas. In use, the buoyant body is filled with air by releasing the storage state and supplying air into the buoyant body from the air supply / exhaust port with a manual pump or by blowing air from the human mouth into the buoyant body. (See, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). In addition, there is a type that employs a gas expansion type in which a carbon dioxide gas cylinder or the like is attached and carbon dioxide gas is supplied from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder into the buoyant body each time.

JP-A-10-329790 JP 2011-201523 A

  In the case of the known buoyancy body as described above, an operation for artificially supplying and filling the buoyancy body with a gas such as air or carbon dioxide gas is required. Therefore, in addition to being bothered, there is a concern that in an emergency, the buoyant body will be used unavoidably without being filled with air. In the case of the gas expansion type, it is difficult to reduce the weight because it does not know how to expand during use or there are accessories such as a cylinder. Furthermore, in the case of the gas expansion type, in addition to replacing the gas cylinder, periodic inspection and maintenance of the machine operating unit and sensors are necessary, and there is a demerit that it cannot be reused as it is.

  By the way, although such buoyancy bodies and life jackets are generally known, we often hear news about drowning accidents every summer. It is a new memory that many people died in the earthquake. There is also news that the rescuer will be washed away by water and the river will be flooded by guerrilla heavy rain. According to statistics from the Maritime Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the survival rate is three times higher when water is dropped while wearing a life jacket, and the death rate is five times higher when not worn. Has been announced. It can be said that there is an urgent need to improve the utilization rate of buoyancy bodies and the rate of wearing life jackets.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a novel buoyant body that can be stored in a lightweight and compact state, and that autonomously expands when used and quickly has a predetermined shape, and a life jacket using the same. It is aimed.

A buoyancy body according to the present invention includes a soft elastic foam sheet, and a waterproof exterior bag body having an on-off valve serving as an air intake port and an exhaust port, and housing the foam sheet. The foam sheet has a large number of convex portions and concave portions on one side or both sides, and is open while exhausting the air in the exterior bag body from the on-off valve with the on-off valve opened. When the compressed body is compressed and wound, it is a wound body, and the wound body is restrained and maintained in a wound state by the restraining member, and when the restraint by the restraining member is released with the on-off valve opened, When the wound body is restored to its original shape by the resilience and expands autonomously, and the foam sheet is wound together with the outer bag body while being compressed from one end, the part where the convex part and the concave part mesh with each other. Japanese that are formed so as to be as inclusive winding body To.
According to the present invention, since the foam sheet is soft elastic, it can be easily wound together with the outer bag body while being compressed from one end. At this time, since the foam sheet has a convex part and a concave part on one side or both sides, it can be a low-wound body while air is discharged from the on-off valve when it is rolled up. Therefore, if this wound body is constrained and maintained in the wound state by the restraining member, the entire body is compact and lightweight, and therefore, it is excellent in storability and portability. Further, when the restraint by the restraining member is released in a state where the on-off valve is opened, the foam sheet returns to its original shape due to its restoring elasticity, and thereby the space portion of the exterior bag body also expands. Along with the expansion of the space portion of the exterior bag body, air is automatically supplied from the outside into the exterior bag body through the on-off valve. And if an on-off valve is closed, it will be maintained in the state which accommodated the foam sheet which the exterior bag body elastically restored. In this way, since it automatically supplies air during use and expands autonomously to quickly form a predetermined shape, for example, when applied to a life jacket or the like, it can be quickly handled in an emergency or the like, which is extremely beneficial. Moreover, since the foam sheet has a large number of recesses in addition to containing many bubbles, the airtight outer bag body includes many spaces, and the foam sheet itself is lightweight. Together, it can be made buoyant. After use, the opening / closing valve is opened again to make the wound body as described above, and when the restraint by the restraining member is released, the wound body returns to the original shape by the restoring elasticity, and autonomously expands, Can be reused over and over again. Further, at this time, it is not necessary to replace the gas cylinder as in the gas expansion type, and it is not electrically controlled by a sensor or the like, so that inspection and maintenance are unnecessary. The foam sheet is formed so as to be a wound body including a portion where the convex portion and the concave portion are engaged when being wound together with the outer bag body while being compressed from one end portion. When it is wound together with the body while being compressed, a meshing portion between the convex portion and the concave portion is generated, and a low-wound wound body can be obtained by discharging and compressing air and this meshing.

In the buoyancy body according to the present invention, the restraining member is a cylindrical storage bag formed in the same size as the wound body, and the wound body is restrained in the wound state while being inserted into the storage bag. It is good also as what is comprised so that maintenance may be made.
According to this, since the storage bag is formed in the same size as the wound body, the wound state is maintained in a state where the wound body is inserted into the storage bag. When the wound body is taken out from the storage bag, the restraint of the wound state is released. Therefore, the restraint is released and the on-off valve is opened, so that the air is automatically supplied and the autonomous Expansion is achieved quickly.

In the buoyancy body according to the present invention, the restraining member is formed of a tie belt, and the wound body is configured so as to maintain the restraint of the wound state in a state where the peripheral body is tightened by the tie belt. It is good as a thing.
According to this, the wound body is maintained in the wound state by tightening with the tie belt. When the tightening by the tie belt is released, the restraint of the winding state is released. The release of the restraint and the open state of the on-off valve automatically supply air, and the autonomous expansion is performed quickly.

In the buoyancy body of the present invention, the exterior bag body may be provided with an air supply portion for supplying air separately from the on-off valve.
According to this, after the automatic air supply as described above, when the air filling amount in the exterior bag body is not sufficient, the air supply from the air supply portion to the exterior bag body can be easily performed manually. Can be done.

The life jacket according to the present invention is characterized by being arranged in a life jacket shape using any one of the above buoyancy bodies.
According to the present invention, since it is lightweight and usually in a very low volume state, it is excellent in storage and portability, and in use, the buoyancy body expands autonomously and automatically supplies air, Since the shape of the life jacket is quickly obtained, it is extremely useful because it can quickly respond to an emergency or the like and can be reused.

  According to the buoyancy body and life jacket of the present invention, it can be stored in a lightweight and compact state, and can autonomously expand during use to quickly form a predetermined shape.

It is a schematic partial fracture | rupture top view which shows an example of the use condition of the buoyancy body which concerns on this invention. It is a partially broken perspective view of the foam sheet used for the buoyancy body of the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 1. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which winds up the buoyancy body of the embodiment from one end part. It is a schematic external view which shows an example of the state which restrains and maintains the buoyancy body of the embodiment to a winding state. It is a schematic external view which shows the other example of the state which restrains and maintains the buoyancy body of the embodiment to a winding state. It is a schematic external view which shows an example of the use condition of the life jacket which concerns on this invention. (a)-(c) is a figure which shows the other example of the foam sheet used for this invention, and is a partial cross section figure of a foam sheet.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show an example of a buoyancy body according to the present invention. The buoyancy body 1 of the present embodiment includes a soft elastic mat-like foam sheet 2 and a waterproof exterior bag body 3 that hermetically accommodates the foam sheet 2. As the foam sheet 2, a highly elastic and highly repellent synthetic resin foam such as a urethane resin foam is used, and for example, Achilles Aeron flexible urethane foam ZFA manufactured by Achilles Corporation is preferably employed. Further, as the exterior bag body 3, a highly airtight waterproof cloth or the like is used, and for example, U-350 rubberized cloth (nylon thermoplastic elastomer cloth) manufactured by Achilles Co., Ltd. is desirably employed. In the foam sheet 2 of the present embodiment, a large number of cylindrical convex portions 21 (shown by B in FIG. 1) are formed on both surfaces over the entire surface, and the portions other than the convex portions 21 are concave portions 22. It is said that. A large number of circular holes 22a (shown by H in FIG. 1) are formed in the concave portion 22 so as to penetrate the front and back surfaces of the foam sheet 2 so as to form part of the concave portion 22. The convex portions 21 are formed in a columnar shape having substantially the same diameter as the circular holes (a part of the concave portions 22) 22a. The convex portions 21 and the circular holes 22a are arranged at substantially equal intervals in a direction orthogonal to the winding direction a to be described later, and form a row for each of the convex portions 21 and the circular holes 22a. The rows and the rows of the circular holes 22a are arranged so as to be alternately adjacent along the winding direction a. And each circular hole 22a ... is located along the winding direction a with respect to each convex part 21 ... adjacent to the anti-winding direction a side, and each convex part 21 ... is the anti-winding direction a. It is comprised so that it may be located in the diagonal direction with respect to the circular holes 22a ... adjacent to the side. The exterior bag body 3 is provided with a manual screw type resin on-off valve 31 for restricting the air flow between the inside and the outside at the terminal end 1b in the winding direction a. An air supply portion 32 with a check valve for supplying air is provided on the side portion on the side opposite to the winding direction a. The check valve structure used here is a general-purpose one used for a floating ring or the like.

  The buoyancy body 1 configured as described above is wound from the start end (one end) 1a in the winding direction a toward the end end (the other end) 1b, and the wound body as shown in FIGS. 10. The point which makes this winding body 10 is demonstrated with reference also to FIG.3 and FIG.4. First, the buoyancy body 1 is laid flat on a work table or the like (not shown), and the foam sheet 2 is pressed onto the work table from the start end portion 1a together with the exterior bag body 3 with the on-off valve 31 open. In this way, it is wound toward the end portion 1b side while being compressed (see arrow b). In this winding process, in a state including the meshing portion of the adjacent convex portion 21 along the winding direction a and the concave portion 22 and the circular hole 22a as a part of the concave portion 22 through the outer bag 3. A wound body 10 is formed. In the process of forming the wound body 10, the foam sheet 2 is compressed together with the exterior bag body 3, and the air in the exterior bag body 3 is discharged from the opening / closing valve 31. This compression is performed so that the convex portions 21 fill the concave portions 22 including the circular holes 22a while the foam sheet 2 itself is also compressed, so that the extremely low-volume wound body 10 is formed. Here, it is possible to compress the buoyancy body 1 even if the winding direction is wrong, but in this case, the adjacent projecting parts 21 and 21 collide with each other so as to mesh with each other as described above. It is necessary to keep in mind that it becomes difficult to get involved.

  The wound body 10 formed in this manner is restrained in a wound state by a cylindrical storage bag 4 or a tie belt 5 as a restraining member as shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. That is, in the example of FIG. 5, the wound body 10 is inserted into the cylindrical storage bag 4 formed to have the same dimensions as the outer dimensions of the wound body 10. When the wound body 10 is inserted into the cylindrical storage bag 4, the tubular storage bag 4 is formed in the same size as the wound body 10, and thus is restrained and maintained in the wound state. The buoyancy body 1 is inserted into the cylindrical storage bag 4 as the wound body 10 and is stored and transported in a state where the opening is closed by the closed string 4a. In the example of FIG. 6, the wound body 10 is restrained and maintained in the wound state in a state in which the peripheral body is tightened by two tie belts 5 in the illustrated example. The buoyancy body 1 is stored, transported, etc. in a state in which it is fastened by two tie belts 5 as the wound body 10.

  As described above, the buoyancy body 1 in the state of being restrained and maintained as the wound body 10 is released from the restraint maintenance by the cylindrical storage bag 4 or the tie belt 5 as the restraining member at the time of use. That is, in the example of FIG. 5, the wound body 10 is taken out from the cylindrical storage bag 4, and in the example of FIG. 6, the tie belt 5 is removed. As described above, when the restraint maintenance is released by the cylindrical storage bag 4 or the tie belt 5, the foam sheet 2 returns to its original shape due to its restoring elasticity, and the meshing is also released, thereby the exterior bag body. The space part 3 also expands. Along with the expansion of the space portion of the exterior bag body 3, the exterior bag body 3 is automatically supplied from the outside through the on-off valve 31. Thereby, the buoyancy body 1 is autonomously expanded, and the buoyancy body 1 is put into a use state by closing the on-off valve 31. At this time, when it is determined that the outer bag body 3 is not sufficiently filled with air, the air is supplied into the outer bag body 3 from the human mouth through the air supply unit 32. Since the air supply part 32 is equipped with a check valve, the air in the exterior bag body 3 is not discharged from the air supply part 32. The buoyancy body 1 in the use state in this way has a large number of concave portions 22 in addition to the foam sheet 2 containing many bubbles, and therefore, there are many in the airtight outer bag 3. Combined with the fact that the space portion is included and the foam sheet 2 is light, the buoyancy body 1 has a large buoyancy when it is floated on water. After use, if the wound body 10 is formed in the above-described manner and kept in a wound state by the cylindrical storage bag 4 or the tie belt 5, it can be reused repeatedly. Note that the on-off valve 31 may also be provided with a check valve, like the air supply unit 32. The structure of the check valve in this case is the same as that described above.

  FIG. 7 is an application example of the buoyancy body 1 and shows an example of a life jacket according to the present invention. The life jacket 6 according to the present embodiment is arranged in a life jacket shape, and shows an example including front left and right front bodies 61 and 62 and a rear body 63 that are front-opened. The front body 61, 62 and the back body 63 are configured to be one air chamber, and the exterior portions of the front body 61, 62 and the back body 63 are covered with the exterior bag body 3. In the exterior bag body 3, three foam sheets 2 having a convex portion 21 and a concave portion 22 that are cut to fit each shape are stored in an airtight manner. Two opening / closing valves 31 and 31 similar to the above are provided at the lower ends of the front bodies 61 and 62, respectively, and an air supply portion 32 similar to the above is provided at the chest position of the left front body 61. It has been. A belt 7 with an insertion buckle is attached to the life jacket 6, and when used, the belt 7 is buckled and can be worn while being fitted to the body.

  The life jacket 6 constructed in this manner is folded left and right with the buckle connection of the belt 7 released, and the two on-off valves 31 and 31 are opened and the upper end ( The wound body 10 can be wound by being compressed while being compressed from one end portion 1a to the lower end portion (other end portion) 1b (see FIG. 3). The wound body is inserted into the cylindrical storage bag 4 or tightened with a tie belt 5 (see FIGS. 5 and 6), and stored or the like while being restrained and maintained in the wound state. At the time of use, similarly to the above, when the restraint by the cylindrical storage bag 4 or the tie belt 5 as a restraining member is released, the life-swelling shape as shown in the figure is self-expanded by the restoring elasticity of each foam sheet 2 The life jacket 6 can be used. When each on-off valve 31 is closed and the air bag 3 is insufficiently filled with air, the air is supplied from the air supply unit 32. And if the user wears the life jacket 6 and buckles the belt 7, the user can quickly enter an evacuation posture, a rescue posture, or the like. According to the above, if the wound body 10 is taken out from the cylindrical storage bag 4, it will swell out and become a life jacket 6 and can be worn immediately. it can.

  Since such a life jacket 6 autonomously expands to a predetermined shape by simply releasing the restraint by the restraining member when in use, it manually supplies gas such as air or carbon dioxide gas into the buoyancy body as in the past. Therefore, the operation of filling is almost unnecessary, and it is very useful because it can respond quickly in an emergency. Moreover, since the foam sheet 2 includes a large number of recesses in addition to containing many bubbles, the airtight outer bag body includes many space portions, and the foam sheet 2 itself is lightweight. Combined with that, a big buoyancy is given to the body. After use, if the on-off valve 31 is opened to make it a wound body as described above and maintained in this state, it can be used again.

  In addition, in the said embodiment, although the example of the recessed part 22 containing the cylindrical convex part 21 and the circular hole 22a was shown as a convex part and a recessed part formed in the foam sheet 2, it is not restricted to this. In short, the buoyancy as the buoyancy body 1 or the life jacket 6 can be ensured, but it is only necessary to form a compact winding body that is not bulky when compressed and wound. For example, the convex portion and the concave portion formed in the foam sheet 2 may be provided with the convex portion and the concave portion by forming a plurality of circular holes 22a, and the shape of the concave portion 22 is a perfect circle in a plan view. The shape is not limited to an oval shape, and may be a polygonal shape such as 3, 4, 5, 6 or the like. Moreover, it is not limited to the arrangement of the convex portions 21 and the circular holes 22a as illustrated, and other arrangement states may be used. Further, the foam sheet 2 may be formed of a square-shaped or kamaboko-shaped convex portion and a concave portion including a square hole, or a plurality of thin sheets each having a plurality of honeycomb-shaped holes formed thereon. Also good. At this time, bulkiness can be suppressed by stacking so that the positions where the holes are formed are shifted.

  In addition, the foam sheet 2 may be corrugated irregularities formed so as to spread over the entire area of the foam sheet 2 as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, a rectangular or circular flat body 210 and a connecting portion 220 that connects the flat body 210 and the flat body 210 may be provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 8 (c), the concave portions 22 each having a bottomed circular hole may be formed at an appropriate interval.

The shape, configuration, etc. of the life jacket are not limited to the example of FIG. It may be a simple shape such as a U-shaped, O-shaped, or I-shaped shape that is worn so as to be hooked on the neck. The number of air chambers of the buoyancy body and the life jacket is not limited to one air chamber, and may be a two air chamber, a three air chamber, or the like. If the air chamber is divided into multiple parts, it is possible to speed up the start-up at the time of self-sustained expansion.For example, even if a certain air chamber is not sealed due to a hole, it can be covered with another air chamber. is there. However, the structure becomes complicated when the number of air chambers increases too much. When the inventor prototyped a life jacket with a buoyancy of 7.5 kg or more with a standard body size of about 165 centimeters in height, it became self-supporting in about 30 seconds even in one air chamber. A product that expands was produced. At this time, when the same size and the same shape and the two air chambers were produced, the usable state could be obtained in about 20 seconds. Furthermore, the position of the on-off valve provided in the buoyancy body and the life jacket is not limited to the illustrated example. For example, in the case of a life jacket, a position where it is easy to work when worn is desirable. In addition, the shape, number, formation position, and the like of the belt 7, the on-off valve 31, and the air supply unit 32 are not limited to the example of FIG. For example, the belt 7 may be two narrower than the illustrated example, or the belt 7 may not be provided. Further, the position of the belt 7 is not limited and can be provided around the chest or waist. In addition, as a restraining member, a decompression pack (vacuum pack), a compression bag, and a storage container can be used in addition to the storage bag 4 and the tie belt 5 as illustrated.
As an application example of the buoyancy body according to the present invention, a life jacket type life jacket is illustrated, but it can also be applied to other types of life jackets. Furthermore, other examples of application of the buoyancy body include floating rings, buoys, rubber boats, various inflated goods used for swimming pools, and the like.

1 Buoyant body 1a Start end (one end)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Winding body 2 Foam sheet 21 Convex part 22 Concave part 22a Circular hole (concave part)
3 Exterior bag body 31 On-off valve 32 Air supply part 4 Cylindrical storage bag (restraint member)
5 Tie belt (restraint member)
6 Life jacket

Claims (5)

A buoyancy body comprising a soft elastic foam sheet and a waterproof exterior bag body having an on-off valve that serves as an air intake port and an exhaust port and housing the foam sheet,
The foam sheet has a large number of convex portions and concave portions on one side or both sides, and is compressed from one end while exhausting the air in the exterior bag body from the on-off valve with the on-off valve opened. When it is rolled up, it becomes a wound body,
The wound body is restrained and maintained in a wound state by a restraining member, and when the restraint by the restraining member is released in a state where the on-off valve is opened, the wound body is restored to its original shape by a restoring elasticity. Swell autonomously ,
The foam sheet is formed so as to be a wound body including a portion in which the convex portion and the concave portion are engaged when the foam sheet is wound together with the outer bag body while being compressed from one end portion. body. The buoyancy body according to claim 1,
The restraining member is formed of a cylindrical storage bag formed to the same size as the wound body, and the wound body is configured to maintain the restraint of the wound state in a state of being inserted into the storage bag. A buoyant body characterized by being . In the buoyancy body according to claim 1 or 2,
The restraint member is formed of a tie belt, and the wound body is configured to maintain the restraint of the wound state in a state in which a peripheral body is tightened by the tie belt. . In the buoyancy body according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
In addition to the on-off valve, the exterior bag body is provided with an air supply portion for supplying air . A life jacket arranged by using a buoyancy body according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and arranged in a life jacket shape.

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