JPS5816478Y2 - self-inflating lifebuoy - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention has a simple structure that automatically generates gas during use, and is inflated by the generated gas to become a lifebuoy, which can be inflated safely, reliably, and quickly. This invention relates to a self-inflating lifebuoy that is easy to throw, maintain, and handle.

Conventional lifebuoys are made by filling the bag with air or filling it with lightweight materials such as cork, foamed rubber, or foamed plastic. A lifebuoy is equipped with a rope attached to the lifebuoy on ships, etc.

This kind of lifebuoy is constantly exposed to light and salt air while the lifebuoy is formed, so the material of the lifebuoy deteriorates quickly.
It is important to pay attention to inspection and maintenance to keep it in a usable condition at all times, and even when in use, the lifebuoy is relatively large and bulky, making it difficult to throw, and it is also lightweight. It is difficult to throw the lifebuoy accurately and over a relatively long distance to the rescuer's location, and because the lifebuoy is bulky, it is difficult to store the lifebuoy so that it can be used immediately in an emergency. There were various problems such as the need for a large space.

To solve this problem, a lifebuoy that automatically inflates to form a lifebuoy during use has been devised and is already on the market as a "lifebuoy."

This lifebuoy consists of a gas cylinder filled with compressed gas such as Freon gas or liquefied carbon dioxide, an automatic opening mechanism for the gas release port of the gas cylinder, and a floating body (made of soft polychloride) that expands with the gas released from the gas cylinder. It consists of a vinyl sheet).

The automatic opening mechanism has a prong that can break through the outlet sealing plate of the gas cylinder, and is held in place by a spring that is held in place by a water-soluble object such as a sugar cube.

Its action (i.e., when a lifebuoy like the one mentioned above is thrown into the water, the water-soluble substance shaped body dissolves, the stored force of the spring is released, the needle breaks through the outlet sealing plate of the gas cylinder, and the gas flows into the lifebuoy) The lifebuoy is formed by entering the tank and inflating it.

However, since these conventional self-inflating lifebuoys directly utilize gas sealed in a gas cylinder, in low-temperature environments such as winter, the rate of gas release from the gas cylinder slows down, making it unnecessary to inflate the buoy. There is a risk that the sealed gas may leak from the gas cylinder during long-term storage, and the automatic opening mechanism of the gas cylinder is activated by dissolving the water-soluble material shape. It takes a relatively long time for the melt mold to melt, and if the action from the time the lifebuoy lands on the water to the time it inflates is slow rather than instantaneous, there will be wide variations in the force and action time, and a safety pin is required. However, there were various drawbacks such as the need to remove the safety pin when operating the device.

In addition, a lifesaving device has been proposed in which a seawater battery ignites an electric igniter to activate the firing pin, which breaks the seal of the gas cylinder and sends the stored gas into the inflatable bag, but this is also similar to the above example. It uses gas sealed in gas cylinders,
The same drawbacks as in the previous example were not overcome.

In addition, an inflatable bag has been proposed in which the bag is folded and stored in a spherical container, but this is inconvenient to hold and handle.

This invention eliminates the drawbacks of conventional products as mentioned above.
By using a gas generator with no mechanical operating parts, the product has a simple structure, is lightweight, compact, and easy to handle, does not deteriorate over time, and ensures reliable expansion without the problem of slow gas release in low-temperature environments. To provide a self-inflating lifebuoy having the characteristics that it can be easily held by a rescued person even when thrown.

That is, the self-inflating lifebuoy of the present invention is a self-inflating lifebuoy consisting of a liquid injection battery, a gas generator, and an inflatable bag, in which the gas generator is placed inside a cylindrical container and is connected to the axis from the end of the cylindrical container. The tail plug, the leg line of the built-in electric heating igniter passed through the tail plug airtightly and led out of the cylindrical container, and the igniter was built in and fixed to the tail plug in airtight contact. An electric igniter, a solid gas generating agent placed around the electric igniter, a coolant layer provided through the solid gas generating agent and a porous partition, a filter layer sandwiched between the porous partitions, and gas outflow. A tube is attached to the cylindrical container, a heat insulating protection tube is fitted to the outer body of the cylindrical container, and a liquid injection battery holder having water inflow and outflow ports on the end and side surfaces is fitted to the tail plug of the cylindrical container. The liquid injection battery holder holds a liquid injection battery connected to the leg wire led out of the cylindrical container, and the side wall end of the gas outlet tube has a floating ring which is folded and bundled. The gas inflow ports of the formed inflatable bag body are airtightly joined together, and the U-shaped holder has a base fitted to the outer periphery of the joined part, and the folded inflatable bag is attached to the U-shaped holder. This self-inflating lifebuoy is characterized in that a rope that holds the body and has one end attached to the inflatable bag body is wound around and held by the U-shaped holder.

It works by holding the end of the rope attached to the self-inflating lifebuoy in one hand, holding the cylindrical gas generator part protected by a heat-insulating protection tube in the other hand, and then holding the self-inflating lifebuoy in seawater or freshwater. When thrown into water, the rope wrapped around the U-shaped holder stretches and the self-inflating lifebuoy lands on the target water surface, and water immediately enters the built-in liquid injection battery through the water inlet and outlet. The injection battery becomes operational and supplies electrical current to the gas generator's electric igniter.

As a result, the electric igniter is operated and the gas generating agent is ignited and burns or decomposes to produce gas, which is cooled and filtered through a layer of coolant and into the inflatable bag. The bag inflates and deploys to form a lifebuoy.

A series of actions such as electrical operations, chemical reactions such as combustion, and mechanical operations such as expansion and expansion are performed instantaneously.

The gas generating agent used in the present invention includes, for example, at least one metal azide selected from the group consisting of alkali metal azides and alkaline earth metal azides, copper, iron, nickel, cobalt, lead, A solid gas generating agent comprising an oxide of at least one metal such as manganese is used.

In addition, a solid gas generating agent consisting of an organic easily decomposable substance such as ammonium perchlorate, azodicarbonamide, or aminotetrazole, and an inorganic oxidizing agent or a heat generating agent consisting of a metal and a metal oxide may also be used. It will be done.

Moreover, an organic binder such as vinyl acetate resin is added to the composition of these solid gas generating agents, if necessary.

As the coolant used in the present invention, for example, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, and mineral particles such as sand containing these as main components are used.

In addition, inorganic carbonates, inorganic bicarbonates, and the like can be used alone or in combination with the above-mentioned coolants.

The electric igniter used in the present invention includes, for example, one consisting only of an electric resistance heating wire such as a nichrome wire, one consisting of an electric resistance heating wire and an igniter placed around it, or one consisting of a platinum wire Various types of electric heating igniters and ignition agents are used, such as one consisting of an ignition ball coated with igniter around a thin electric bridge wire and an ignition agent placed around it.

Further, the above-mentioned ignition agent used here includes at least one metal such as zirconium, calcium, boron, and titanium, and at least one metal oxide such as copper oxide, molybdenum oxide, bismuth oxide, and lead peroxide. It is a composition consisting of.

The liquid injection battery used in this invention is one that starts operating as a battery and becomes capable of discharging when seawater or fresh water flows into it. It is called a battery, for example, silver chloride-
It is commercially available as a magnesium seawater activated battery.

However, this seawater battery does not operate when freshwater flows in, so a liquid-injection battery that can be activated even in freshwater may be used, for example, by creating an electrolyte in the seawater battery that has the same function as seawater. For example, an electrolyte containing electrolyte particles containing sodium chloride as a main component wrapped in water-soluble wrapping paper may be used.

In addition, the inflatable bag forming the floating ring portion of the self-inflating lifebuoy of the present invention may be made of, for example, natural rubber, sludge, or
At least one flexible material selected from the group consisting of synthetic rubbers such as styrene-butadiene rubber, acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, chloroprene rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, butyl rubber, or synthetic resins such as urethane resin and vinyl chloride resin. A flexible composite sheet formed into a floating ring shape by laminating a coating material and a woven fabric of synthetic fibers such as nylon, vinylon, or polyester or a woven fabric of natural fibers such as cotton or linen is used.

The porous partition wall used in the present invention is a partition wall that has many small holes for gas passage, such as a perforated partition plate or a partition wire mesh, and allows gas to pass through but suppresses the passage of solids.

The heat insulating protective cylinder used in this invention prevents the heat generated by the gas generator from being transmitted to the outside of the cylindrical container, making it safe for rescuers to touch.It is made of paper, foamed synthetic resin, etc. , glass fiber mat, asbestos cloak, etc., or a composite material thereof.

In addition, by attaching the water inflow and outflow ports to the end and side surfaces of the liquid injection battery holder, one side becomes the water outflow port and the other side serves as an air vent and water outflow port, ensuring that water quickly and reliably fills the liquid injection battery. Then, the liquid injection battery operates.

Furthermore, the U-shaped holder used in the present invention holds the inflatable bag body in a folded state and also holds the rope wrapped in an orderly manner, thereby making it possible to store the self-inflating lifebuoy before use. It is easy to use, and when in use, the rope can be stretched without being twisted.

Next, the self-inflating lifebuoy of the present invention will be specifically explained using an example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory external view showing -fu of the self-inflating lifebuoy of the present invention.

In Fig. 1, 1 is a gas generator, 2 is a seawater battery unit with a seawater battery built into a liquid injection battery holder, 3 is a seawater inlet/outlet, 4 is a gas outlet pipe, and 5 is a lifebuoy. 6 is a U-shaped holder whose base is fitted to the outer periphery of the joint between the gas outlet pipe 4 and the inflatable bag 5; The rope 7 is held in a folded state, and a rope 7, one end of which is engaged with the inflatable bag body 5 and the other end of which is engaged with a grip ring 8, is neatly wound and held.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram for explaining the structure of the gas generator 1 before operation, which is the main part of the self-inflating lifebuoy shown in FIG. 1, and the structure of the inflatable bag body 5 in the expanded state. be.

In FIG. 2, the gas generator 1 includes a cylindrical container 9, an electric igniter 10, a solid gas generating agent 11 formed by molding a composition consisting of 70 parts by weight of sodium azide and 30 parts by weight of manganese oxide IV into a single tube shape. It incorporates a coolant 12 made of aluminum oxide particles and a filter 13 made of glass wool, rock wool, etc., and is provided with a gas outlet tube 4 on the gas downstream side of the filter 13.

14 is a Q17 ring, 15 is a spacer, 16 is a partition porous plate, 17 is a partition wire mesh, and 18 is a tail plug of the gas generator 10.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a heat-insulating protective paper cylinder of the gas generator 1.

In addition, the seawater battery section 2 also includes a seawater battery 22 in a liquid injection battery holder 21 having a seawater inflow/outflow port 3 . It is connected to line 24.

The electric igniter 10 is equipped with an ignition agent 29, an electric heating body consisting of an ignition ball 28 in which an igniter 27 is applied around a platinum electric bridge wire 26 connected to the tip of a leg wire 24, inside a case 25. ing.

In this example, the inflatable bag body 5 is a flexible composite sheet 32 formed by laminating urethane resin layers 31 on the front and back sides of a nylon woven fabric 30.
FIG. 2 shows a partially omitted cross-sectional view of the inflatable bag 5 in the expanded state.

Next, the effects of the self-inflating lifebuoy illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be explained.

First, the grip 8 of the rope 7 of the self-inflating lifebuoy of the present invention
is held in one hand, and the gas generator 10 is held in the other hand used for throwing.
When the self-inflating lifebuoy is thrown toward the sea surface where the rescued person is located, the rope 7 is untied and stretched, and the holder 6 is in the released state.

When the self-inflating lifebuoy lands on the sea surface in this state, seawater enters from the seawater inflow and outflow ports 3 of the seawater battery section 2 and exhausts the air inside, filling the seawater battery 22 with seawater. Immediately it becomes operational and current flows through the terminal wire 23 from the leg wire 24 of the electric igniter 10 to the platinum electric bridge wire 26 of the igniter 28.

There, the platinum electric bridge wire 26 generates heat, the igniter 27 ignites, the igniter 29 burns, and the solid gas generating agent 11 is ignited.

The solid gas generating agent 11 burns to generate nitrogen gas in this example.

The generated relatively high temperature nitrogen gas is cooled by the coolant 12, and while passing through the filter 13, by-product solid residue is collected and removed, and flows from the gas outlet tube 4 into the expandable bag body 5,
The inflatable bag body 5 is inflated and deployed to form a lifebuoy.

The time required for this self-inflating lifebuoy to inflate and deploy after landing on the water to form a lifebuoy is within a few seconds.

The self-inflating lifebuoy of the present invention, which functions as described above, is as follows: 1) The gas that inflates and deploys the lifebuoy is generated exothermically through combustion, decomposition, etc., so it is different from the conventional self-inflating lifebuoy that uses gas cylinders. It does not have poor low-temperature operability like the above, has small variations over a wide range of environmental temperatures, and can stably expand and expand due to gas generation.

2) Since a solid gas generating agent is used, there is no risk of gas leakage before use, unlike with conventional gas cylinder types, and there is no worry that it will become unusable during storage. 3) The operating mechanism of the gas generator is Since it becomes operational only when an electrolyte such as seawater flows into a liquid injection battery such as a seawater battery and a current is generated, there is no need for a mechanical safety mechanism such as a safety pin, and it is not necessary to use it. All you need to do is to seal at least the water inlet and outlet.

Note that when electrolyte such as seawater flows into the liquid injection battery, the inflow speed is stabilized at the water inlet/outlet of the liquid injection battery holder, so the operating time of the liquid injection battery is stable with little variation.

Since the gas generating agent is activated instantly by electric ignition, it takes a maximum of several seconds from the start of activation to the completion of inflation, and the self-inflating lifebuoy of this invention operates safely, reliably, and quickly. It is something that can be done.

4) The self-inflating lifebuoy of the present invention is lightweight and compact, so it requires only a small storage space and can be stored in a way that prevents direct exposure to sunlight or salt air. Therefore, there is no need to worry about deterioration during storage, and handling and maintenance are easy.

5) The self-inflating lifebuoy of the present invention is lightweight and compact, and since it is a cylindrical container, it is easy to grasp and is compact, and it is not bulky like conventional lifebuoys, so it is easy to throw at long distances. It can be thrown accurately to the target point.

6) The cylindrical container of the self-inflating lifebuoy of the present invention is easy to grip, which is useful for rescuers even after being thrown into the water, and the cylindrical container is covered with a heat-insulating protection tube to insulate it from heat generated when gas is generated. This makes it safe for the rescued person to touch the cylindrical container.Also, since the rope is wrapped neatly around the U-shaped holder before being thrown, the rope can be stretched smoothly and covered without getting caught. Easy to reach and rescue rescuers.

The self-inflating lifebuoy of the present invention has various characteristic effects and advantages, such as, the self-inflating lifebuoy of the present invention can provide excellent overall rescue effects.

As explained in detail above, the self-inflating lifebuoy of the present invention has the characteristics of being lightweight, small, safe, reliable, quick to operate, and easy to handle.
In addition to being useful as a lifebuoy that is always kept in rescue departments, it is also convenient for fishermen, anglers, sailors, etc. to carry, and has a wide range of uses, such as being ready for emergencies.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the appearance of the self-inflating lifebuoy of the present invention, showing the -ψ tilt. FIG. 2 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the main parts of the self-inflating lifebuoy shown in FIG. 1. 1...Gas generator, 4...Gas outlet tube, 5...Inflatable bag body, 70...Electric igniter, 11...・・Solid gas generating agent, 12・・・・
... Coolant, 22 ... Seawater battery 28 ...
・Ignition ball, 29...Ignition agent, 30...
Woven fabric, 31... Urethane resin layer, 32...
...Flexible composite sheet.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a self-inflating lifebuoy consisting of a liquid injection battery, a gas generator, and an inflatable bag, the gas generator is built into a cylindrical container, and a tail plug is built into the cylindrical container in order from the end of the cylindrical container in the axial direction. The leg wire of the electric heating igniter passes through the tail plug in an airtight manner and is led out of the cylindrical container, and the electric ignition device contains an ignition charge and is fixed in airtight contact with the tail plug, the eye, and the electric igniter. A solid gas generating agent placed around the solid gas generating agent, a coolant layer provided through the solid gas generating agent and a porous partition wall, a filter layer inserted into the porous partition wall, and a gas outlet tube are installed, A heat insulating protection tube is fitted to the outer body of the cylindrical container, and a liquid injection battery holder having water inflow and outflow ports on the end and side surfaces is fitted to the tail plug of the cylindrical container, and the liquid injection battery holder A liquid injection battery connected to the leg wire led out of the cylindrical container is held therein, and a folding 1 is attached to the end of the side wall of the gas outlet pipe.
The gas inflow ports of the bundled floating ring-forming inflatable bags are airtightly joined together, and a U-shaped holder with a base fitted around the outer periphery of the joint is further provided, and the U-shaped holder has the folding A self-inflating lifebuoy, characterized in that it holds a folded inflatable bag body, and a rope having one end attached to the inflatable bag body is wound and held around the U-shaped holder.