KR101613185B1 - Inflatable evacuation slide and ship rescue equipment including same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a ram (1) comprising three longitudinal beams (5, 6), each longitudinal beam (5, 6) having a polygonal shape in an expanded state and longitudinal bows Each comprising at least two inflatable tubes (8) supported by inflatable tubes of side and lower struts arranged as tightly sealed inflatable frames (11, 18) surrounding the reinforcing frames 11, 18 are connected to the longitudinal beams 5, 6 by connecting means and expansion means.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an inflatable evacuation slide,

The invention relates to an inflatable marine evacuation system comprising at least one inflatable lifeboat which is folded and stored in a collapsed state together with associated inflation means within a perimeter- To an inflatable marine evacuation slide for evacuating people with one inflatable lifeboat (or lifeboat) and to rescue equipment for the passengers and / or crew of the ship.

As well as rescue equipment comprising such an inflatable escape slide as described above and a container containing an inflation means associated with the at least one inflatable lifeboat, as well as the general form of inflatable marine escape slides described above, are known.

In particular, patent document WO 95/14605 discloses a marine evacuation device comprising an inflatable escape slide connected to an inflatable lifeboat by means of releasable slide / lifeboat connection devices, and a releasable slide / lifeboat connection The connecting devices are deformable connecting devices that allow the relative movement of the slide and the lifeboat, and the entire evacuation system may include a large lifeboat capable of accommodating, for example, about 100 people, And is expanded.

In a marine evacuation system as disclosed in WO 95/14605, an inflatable escape slide for evacuating persons from a vessel to an inflatable lifeboat comprises:

- at least two individually inflatable longitudinal tubes, adjacently connected to each other over the length of the beams, transversely over the length of the beams and spaced apart and including two side lower and middle upper beams substantially parallel to each other in an expanded state Three multiple beams each including a plurality of beams;

A flexible chute intended to support people during the evacuation of the people through the slide, comprising: a slide / liferaft < RTI ID = 0.0 > A flexible chute extending continuously between side lower bars to the outlet end with connection connecting devices and across the entire length of the slide;

A lower braces including inflatable lower tubes connected to the two side underbones and extending below the evacuation chute; And

A side braces for reinforcing the structure of the slide by providing a cross section having a substantially perpendicular and triangular shape to the longitudinal beams in the inflated state, including inflatable side tubes connected to the central upper beam and the side lower beams .

In an embodiment of the inflatable escape slide described with respect to Figures 1, 2 and 4 to 6 of WO 95/14605, in a deployed, unfolded and inflated state, a ramp- The storage cradle for the ramp-container unit and the slide extending between the inflatable lifeboats are individually inflatable (independently of each other) and are connected together in three groups of three to form three triplet beams Wherein the three corresponding tubes are superimposed so that the cross-section of the stack is also substantially triangular in cross-section. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > With three longitudinal tubes contacting substantially two along the busbars and being joined by welding or high frequency welding Thus it is connected with the one bus bar (generating lines). When the slide is in the inflated state, the groups of longitudinal tubes are held apart and spaced apart and supported by the expanded tubes of the side and lower struts, called diagonals. The side braces are constituted by inflatable side tubes alternating upstream and downstream, i. E. Towards the inlet and outlet ends of the slide, paired alternately with respect to the plane perpendicular to the expanded longitudinal tubes.

In patent document WO 2009/026631, which is the same Applicant's name as WO 95/14605 and describes an expandable marine evacuation slide with a generally triangular cross section, the state of the art according to WO 95/14605 is shown in Figures 3 and 4 Referring to these figures, the side brace assemblies of the two tilted inflatable tubes used to reinforce the sides of the slide are not connected to one another, so that the effect of their own weight without any additional load of the evacuator And the movements of the slides are less likely to be deformed due to the increased risk of deformation of the slide due to twisting or buckling under applied bending and / or torsional loads, Expansive marine evacuation slides, which are significant deficiencies that are unsuitable for safe use Are people.

In order to overcome the drawbacks of the embodiments according to WO 95/14605, WO 2009/026631 proposes an inflatable escape slide having a generally triangular cross-section and comprising a base and two sides, Are arranged by a series of self-locking components that are arranged side by side and secured together such that the slides are straight when they are inflated into the use configuration and are subjected to initial stresses such that the slides are slightly arcuate and upwardly convex, Starting from an unloaded state, when at least one evacuator is loaded, it remains in a straight line. Self-locking components are adjacent and successively interconnected inflatable components disposed in closed frames having a generally triangular shape used in alternating inverted states in the expanded state, so that the expanded "triangular " triangular "frame enters between two vertices, each of which belongs to one of two immediately adjacent" triangular "frames of the sequences. More precisely, each inflated frame is a hexagonal frame with three long sides alternating with three short sides, each short side having an end of two long sides of the corresponding "triangular" And the inflated frames are arranged on the outside of each one of the two single side beams each composed of multiple upper longitudinal beams with three inflatable longitudinal tubes and one inflatable longitudinal tube of the slide And defines a side of the slide that extends substantially within a single, tilted plane.

This type of expansion with its own support structure having side faces each of which is each constituted by a series of adjacent inflatable frames which are swung and arranged in use, It is understood that the production of a sheltered slide as far as possible has a complicated structure and is particularly difficult to achieve in terms of cost.

In addition to the rectangular cross section with four double lengthwise beams each of which is connected side by side and is constituted by two inflatable tubes supported by inflatable cross tubes constituting the lower braces and the upper braces, An inflatable escutcheon slide, made up of inflatable tubes connecting the lower longitudinal bows to the upper longitudinal bosses and alternately upstream and downstream zigzag inclined lateral bracing, as in WO 95/15787 (See Figs. 7 and 8 and the corresponding part of the description of the fraudulent document). The chute extends over the transverse tubes of the lower strut between the two lower double longitudinal beams.

In this embodiment, the inflatable members (longitudinal beams, and optionally side, lower and upper braces) are constructed by an inflatable tube having a tubular chamber defined between the cylindrical outer wall and the cylindrical inner wall, The outer wall and the cylindrical inner wall surround the expandable cylindrical central chamber to strain the tube and the rigidity of the tube is increased by a sheet of semi-rigid flexible material extending into the annular chamber.

Also, in this embodiment, it is understood that the proper stiffness of the slide is highly dependent on the properties of the semi-rigid flexible material disposed in the sheets in the annular chambers of the inflatable tubes. Therefore, an inflatable escape slide also has a complicated structure, which is difficult and expensive to manufacture.

The problem addressed by the present invention is to improve the safety and speed of evacuation, i.e. the rigidity and rigidity of the slide in an expanded state, in terms of safety and speed of transport of people from the ship to at least one inflatable lifeboat or lifeboat By improving the structure of at least the known inflatable escape slides and the structure of the inflatable escape slides of the known general type mentioned above, by providing an unsychronized pitch and / As disclosed in WO 95/14605 which provides resistance to deformation due to the effects of wave movements, swell, wind-induced bending-twist and / or compressive-tensile loads as well as roll movements. We propose an inflatable evacuation slide with a generally triangular shaped cross section in the general form Will.

Another object of the present invention is to improve the structure of the above-mentioned general types of slides so as to make the slides according to the invention easier and cheaper on an industrial scale by at least partially modulating the structure of the slides, To make slides of different lengths adapted to the requirements according to the type of vessels equipped (regular passenger ships, in particular, cruise ships or ferries).

It is another object of the present invention to advantageously provide a slide that is compatible with the large capacity of a large modern structure (of 100 seats) or the large capacity of survival lifeboats and / or the area forming the receiving platform, such as that disclosed in the applicant's patent document FR 2 756 809 (S) of the container and / or the launching and unfolding of the slide-container assembly, followed by the expansion of the slide, and the sequential expansion of the lifeboat (s) contained in the container's opening and container, Which is a sheltered device wrapped around a container while a retracted folded slide is connected to the ship on one side and to a single lifeboat in a container or to a first lifeboat in the container, An inflatable escape slide, such as that disclosed in FR 2 912 111, , To improve the inflatable evacuation slide of the above mentioned general type known to the evacuation device in combination with a container for boats recently advantageously provided a slide which is compatible with developments.

To this end, the invention is characterized in that the inflatable tubes of the side and lower struts are arranged in an expanded state in which the tubes of the reinforcing frames surround three longitudinal beams connected by connecting means and expansion means through the longitudinal beams, The present invention proposes an inflatable escape slide of the general type described above and described in WO 95/14605, which is characterized in that it is disposed within the enclosed, inflatable reinforced frames.

Thus, the compression / tension and / or bending / twisting forces that press any one of the three multi-longitudinal beams or one of the longitudinal tubes that such a beam includes are at least equal to at least one of the tightened reinforcement frames of the side and lower braces And are thus absorbed by the associated longitudinal reinforcing frame (s) so as to be distributed to the other longitudinal beams (s), i.e. the tubes they contain, and to be conveyed to the other tightened reinforcing frames of the slide, By means of the tight reinforced frames, the relatively concentrated forces pushing either one of the three longitudinal beams and / or one of the tightened reinforced frames can be applied to the entire frame of the slide constituted by these beams and reinforced frames Distributed and diffused.

Advantageously, in order to facilitate the fabrication of the slides according to the invention with different lengths in order to be suitable for application on different types of ship while having the general structure of the slide as defined above, Mechanical and pneumatically independent inflatable reinforcement modules, each of the reinforcement modules being passed by the chute and the longitudinal bobbins, and from one of the two ends of the slide to the other And the reinforcing modules are connected to the three longitudinal beams by the connecting means and the expansion means.

Thus, the sealed reinforcing frames formed by the portions of the inflatable tubes of the side and lower braces are integrated into the reinforcing modules, and the number of tightened reinforcing frames is determined by the length of the reinforcing modules and the length Of the slide.

More advantageously, defects in the reinforcing module, such as tearing or puncturing, are prevented by the respective reinforcing modules, such that the shrinkage of the slides does not result in the loss of the rigidity of the portion of the slide where the three longitudinal rods are supported by the damaged reinforcing module A module is a segmented assembly comprising a plurality of interconnected inflatable structures, each inflatable structure defining an individually inflatable sealed segment for different segments of the assembly.

In a preferred embodiment, each reinforcing module comprises at least one inflatable structure that forms a hexagonal close strengthened frame in an expanded state, and the hexagonal close reinforced frame has a lateral end of the lower brace toward the lower ends of the side braces And two lower side braces adjacent to each other and three shorter tubes forming a short upper brace connecting the upper ends of the two side braces.

Thus, the hexagonal close reinforced frames of all the reinforcing modules of the slide substantially compartmentalize the prism with a hexagonal cross section, i. E. Six prismes with three (three large and three small) faces, When each of the triplets is constituted by the stacking of three expandable longitudinal tubes having a cross-section of the dummy with a substantially triangular shape, it not only has the advantage of enclosing the three triplet beams as close as possible , And, above all, a slide having a high degree of rigidity due to a relatively large number of surfaces.

Also, in a particularly advantageous embodiment, each reinforcing module in its expanded state has a general external shape of a hollow truncated pyramid with a square or rectangular base, and the tilted edges of the reinforcing module have two substantially The triangular opposed sides are also formed by side strut tubes that define an upstream face facing the inlet end of the opposing and substantially triangular slide and a downstream face facing the outlet end of the slide and the upstream and downstream faces are formed by three Wherein the base of each reinforcing module is in the expanded state of the reinforcing module and is supported by a substantially X-shaped brace extending below the chute support and the chute, Tube and a downstream lower strut tube.

Thus, in accordance with a particularly advantageous embodiment, combining the advantages of the reinforcing modules with the hexagonal close strengthened frames and the general external shape of the hollow, disconnected pyramids, each reinforcing module of the slide according to the present invention can be used in an expanded state Each of which comprises an upstream outer hexagonal frame and a downstream outer hexagonal frame that constitute an independent inflatable structure and wherein the independent inflatable structure comprises an upstream internal polygonal frame and a downstream internal polygonal frame forming the other independent inflatable structure, Two double long side strut tubes and three short short tubes, respectively, by each of two corresponding long tubes and three short tubes of the frame, and is folded or superimposed toward the inside of the module, Each of the inner polyhedrons of the corresponding upper or lower inner polyhedra frame And a lower tube in the form of a flared U connected through the ends of the U-shaped arms to the shortened tubes, and at the same time, each U-shaped tube to form a substantially X- The lower tube is connected over the length of the U-shaped base to the U-shaped base of the corresponding lower tube of another inner polyhedra frame.

Thus, in this particular embodiment, each reinforcing module comprises four inflatable structures that are independent of each other for safety purposes, i. E., Independently inflated independently of each other, and two of these four inflatable structures Shaped frame that forms part of the X-shaped base that holds the two hexagonal frames of the base at the base, while the other two each superimpose one of the hexagonal frames over a portion of its periphery, admit.

Also, in order to provide a slide with the greatest required stiffness or stiffness, a deformation of the slide by buckling when bent or by spinning when it is twisted, that is, The slide is configured to further restrict the deformation of the inlet, or upper or upstream end of the engaged slide, and the outlet of the slide, or the lower or downstream end, than the intermediate reinforcing modules installed between the two end strengthening modules in the expanded state One each of the two strengthening end modules being advantageously included in each of the two ends of the slide.

To this end, according to a simple and contributing structure, each end reinforcement module comprises a greater number of independent inflatable structures than each intermediate reinforcement module.

Thus, if intermediate modules with four independent inflatable structures, each comprising two hexagonal frames according to the preferred embodiment described above, are produced respectively, then at least one end reinforcement module comprises at least two additional independent inflatable structures Structures, each of the additional independent inflatable structures having an overall shape of the inverted V and having two side straps long tubes and a short upper strap short < RTI ID = 0.0 > The at least one end reinforcement module comprises at least six independent inflatable structures, each of which is constituted by two side strut elongated tubes and a short upper strut short tube, which are connected together over their respective lengths on the outside of the tube.

This embodiment includes a common basic structure, in which both end modules, such as the intermediate modules, are the structure of the intermediate modules, and two additional independent, inflatable It is particularly advantageous in that structures are simply added.

On such a slide for safety purposes, damage (tearing or perforation) to one of the inflatable longitudinal tubes may be prevented by a portion of the slide by contracting the corresponding inflatable structures of the adjacent longitudinal reinforcement modules To ensure that it does not result in a loss of rigidity, the corresponding expandable structures of two adjacent modules of the slide are connected by separate inflation means to the inflatable longitudinal tubes, which are mainly different from the longitudinal beams.

Ideally, the inflatable structure of each of two or even three adjacent reinforcing modules is preferably connected to the respective inflatable longitudinal tube of the longitudinal beams by separate inflation means. However, because of the satisfactory trade-off between cost and efficiency, the number of beams is limited to three and the number of inflatable longitudinal tubes is also limited to, for example, three, the application of the above- Will result in reinforcing modules that are not capable of ensuring proper safety with their structures or, conversely, will result in reinforcing modules having a sufficient number of independent, inflatable structures for proper safety, resulting in inflatable The total number of longitudinal tubes is insufficient to cause each longitudinal tube to provide expansion of only one single inflatable structure of two or three adjacent reinforcing modules. For this reason, at least a majority of the corresponding inflatable structures of two adjacent reinforcing modules have been applied to the other inflatable longitudinal tubes of the longitudinal beams by respective inflation means specific to the respective inflatable structure.

To facilitate attachment of the slide to the lifeboat, the outlet end of the slide is connected to the inflatable crossing at the downstream end connected using two spaced-apart regions with respect to the downstream ends of the inflatable longitudinal tubes of the two side- It is advantageous to include a tube wherein the inflatable transverse tube extends downward sideways beyond the regions where the inflatable transverse tube is inflated by the two curved inflatable end extensions connected to the two side underbars of the slide, The extensions enable extending the area of contact between the slide and the lifeboat to ensure satisfactory contact between the slide and the lifeboat.

Advantageously, advantageously, in a slide according to the invention, the connecting means is a detachable (or removable) mechanical fastening capable of discontinuously connecting the inflatable tubes of the longitudinal beams and the inflatable side and bottom tubes together, Devices.

The advantage of this discontinuous fixation by detachable mechanical fastening devices is that it not only facilitates the assembly of the slides by installing the necessary number of reinforcing modules on the longitudinal beams and removing them if necessary, Mechanically securing the inflatable tubes of the bobbins to the side or lower inflatable strut tubes, such as by separable mechanical fastening to one another and by another combination of expansion by one of the tubes, The expansion means of the side and lower bracing tubes is made easier by making up the expansion means of the bracing tubes at the same time.

Another object of the present invention is rescue equipment for the passengers and / or crew of the ship, and as is known in the art and as already described above, the rescue equipment is provided in a retracted, At least one inflatable lifeboat retracted and retracted together with associated inflation means, the inlet end of the slide being attached to the vessel by a connecting means, the outlet end of the slide being connected to a deformable releasable slide / lifeboat connection Attached to a lifeboat in a container by devices, and in the structural equipment according to the invention said slide is a slide according to the invention and as indicated above.

It should also be noted that, in the present embodiment, the so-called "three-way ", which is often used in unpacking a parachute by releasing the parachute to release its main parachute to open the user's reserve parachute, quot; ring "type, and the deformable and releasable slide-lifting boat connecting connection devices of the device according to the present invention can be used in combination with one or more of the two lateral edges of the outlet end of the slide And each of the side assemblies may be a known side-by-side assembly with a pneumatic or pyrotechnic or manual and local remote release, Quot; type of connection device, which is connected to the slide by traps and is connected to the triggering device And is connected to the lifeboat by other traps attached to at least one ring.

Finally, the arrangement according to the invention is characterized in that an assembly constituted by at least one liferaft and its enclosure containing expansion means and a slide wrapped around the container is fixed on the deck of the ship and is used for storage and launching from the cradle Can be accommodated within a storage cradle having a known structure of such a state-of-the-art slide-container assembly already used.

However, it is advantageous for the equipment according to the invention that the slide-container assembly is to be received in the storage and dispensing cradle for the assembly, the cradle is designed to be fixed on the deck of the vessel, As well as a thrust plate with a concave front surface that can push the assembly onto a protruding sliding plate that can protrude with respect to the edge of the deck of the ship can be carried out with clearance against the edge of the deck of the ship And a toggle plate for ensuring the safety.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following non-limiting description of exemplary embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Are included herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the invention in which a ferry-type vessel and the outlet or lower end of the slide are disposed between the inflatable lifeboats connected by the deformable and releasable slide-lifter boat connection devices shown in detail (VIII) ≪ / RTI > is an outline perspective view of an inflatable escape slide in accordance with the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the inflatable escape slide of Fig. 1 in its deployed and deployed state shown without a chute to show the inflatable frame of the substructure of the present slide.
Figures 2a, 2b and 2c are schematic perspective views of a top reinforcement module, a middle reinforcement module and a slide-lifter boat deformable and releasable connection device, respectively, of the details (IIa, IIb, IIc)
Figure 3 is a schematic plan view of the slide of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a schematic side elevational view of the slide of Figure 2;
5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the slide of FIG. 2 along the tilted partial plane V-V of FIG.
Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of the end reinforcement module of Figure 2a, consisting of two symmetrical elements or halves before assembly, each half or element consisting of three independent inflatable structures.
Figure 7 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the end reinforcement module of Figure 2a showing six independent inflatable structures where the two reinforcement modules located at the ends do not require the fabrication of the intermediate reinforcement module according to Figure 2b.
8 is an enlarged schematic perspective view of sub-section (VIII) of FIG. 1, with partial cut-away of the upper outer tube of the lifeboat.
Figures 9 and 10 are enlarged schematic views of each of the details (IX, X) of Figure 8.

1 is a perspective view of a ship 2, such as a ferry, and deformable and releasable slide / rubber boat connection devices, generally indicated by detail (VIII) in FIG. 1 and described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. The inflatable escape slide 1 of the present invention, which is disposed between the inflatable life-ready boat 3 and the inflatable life-saving boat 3 so as to be releasably attached to the lower or the exit end of the slide 1, And the other end of the slide 1 which is the upper end or the inlet end of the slide 1 is formed by a retracted and folded lifeboat 3 in a folded slide 1 and a container (not shown) Is connected to the storage and launching cradle (4) installed in the vessel (2) for storing the assembly, and the slide (1) It is on the deck of the vessel (2) folded in the storage mode.

As shown on a larger scale in Figures 2 to 5, the structure of the slide 1 comprises a frame comprising three longitudinal triple beams, one of which is the other two And a flexible chute 7 arranged as an escape chute intended to support those escaped by the slide 1 is mounted on the slide 1 between the side underbones, And extends over the entire length of the frame.

For the sake of clarity, the chute 7 is schematically shown only in Fig. 5 to show the frame structure.

Each of the longitudinal triplets 5, 6 has a circular cross-section and is each in the form of an elongated cylinder which is inflatable (i.e., inflatable independently of the others) and one over the other two Including three longitudinal tubes 8, which are slightly tangent to each other and are joined around three tubes 8 of each beam by adhesive or high frequency welding, for example, For example, intermittently and non-continuously, adjacently and side by side over their lengths, by means of links, such as fixed or flexible rings, collar or straps, , 6 have a substantially equilateral triangular shape in the expanded state.

The frame of the slide 1 is also inflatable but geometrically and mechanically independent from one another and comprises a plurality of reinforcing modules 9, 10 arranged side by side from the inlet end to the outlet end of the slide 1 , Each reinforcing module (9, 10) being mechanically connected to the longitudinal tubes (8) of the longitudinal bobbins (5, 6) by means of connecting means, the longitudinal bobbins 5 are expanded from a portion of the longitudinal tubes 8 of the reinforcement modules 9, 10 so that the reinforcement modules 9, 10 are spaced apart across the length of the beams to keep the beams apart Supporting and holding the beams 5 and 6 so that the beams are substantially parallel to each other to provide an expanded slide 1 having a cross-section (perpendicular to the beams 5 and 6) having a shape of substantially isosceles or isosceles triangles In parallel with each other.

These reinforcement modules, the number of which determines the length of the slide 1, can be divided into two different forms, namely the end reinforcement modules 9 and the intermediate reinforcement modules 10 installed therebetween, In a particular embodiment there are all three between the two end reinforcement modules 9 for the inflatable slide 1 with an overall length of 14.5 m.

In this embodiment, the two end reinforcement modules 9 are identical to one another and correspond to the upper end module 9 of sub-item IIa of Figure 2, as shown in Figure 2a, (10) are also identical to one another and correspond to the intermediate module 10 in the middle of the slide 1 according to the detail item (IIb) of Fig. 2, as shown in Fig. 2b.

Each of the two types of reinforcement modules 9,10 is a separate assembly consisting of six inflatable structures for the end stiffener 9 connected together and four inflatable structures for the intermediate stiffener 10 , Each of the inflatable structures may expand relative to other components of the corresponding reinforcing module 9,10.

Now, the construction and fabrication of the end reinforcement module 9 according to Fig. 2a will be described with reference to Figs. 6 and 7, wherein before the assembly of the two halves each of the two symmetrical halves is connected to three independent Two symmetrical halves constituting the end module 9 consisting of the inflatable structures, and three modules constituting one half 9a of the module in the exploded perspective view of Fig. 7, And six other independent inflatable structures of the same end module 9 including the other three constituting the other half portion 9b. Since the two symmetrical halves 9a and 9b are arranged in the same direction and facing each other, it is sufficient to describe one of them. Each of the halves 9a and 9b in the inflated state is designed so that when the stiffeners 9 and 10 are assembled on the slide 1 the reinforcement module 9 and / And an inflatable structure constituting a hexagonal closed stiffening frame 11 called an outer frame because it is arranged toward the outside of the reinforcing module 10. This hexagonal-enclosure reinforced frame 11 is constituted by three successive long tubes 12, 13 and 14 and also by three short tubes 15, 16 and 17 which are identical to one another, The two long tubes 12 and 13 constitute side straps which are tilted upward toward each other and the long tubes 14 constitute a lower strap while the short tubes 15 constitute short straps, And the short tube 16 constitutes a lower side connection to the lower end of the corresponding side straps 13 of the side ends of the lower straps 14 and connects the upper ends of the two side straps 12, Another short tube (17) connects the other lateral end of the lower brace (14) to the lower end of the other side brace (12).

Each of the halves 9a and 9b of the end reinforcing module 9 is also provided with another polygonal closed stiffening structure called inner because it is disposed inside the module 9 with respect to the outer hexagonal frame 11. [ And the second independent inflatable structure comprises a second independent inflatable structure constructed by two long tubes (12, 13) identical to the long tubes (12, 13) of the hexagonal frame (11) The two long tubes 19 and 20 are connected to each other at the upper end by short tubes 21 which form the same short upper strut as the upper strut 15 of the frame 11, And the lower ends of the two long side strut tubes 19,20 of the frame 18 close the frame 18 in the form of a truncated U and engage the other half portions 9a, 9b in a truncated U-shape of the frame 18 By means of a respective one of the two short tubes 22, 23 identical to the short tubes 16, 17 of the frame 11 and to each other, in order to form a connection to the ends of the arms of the lower tube 24 These two lower, truncated, U-shaped tubes 24 extend downwardly to engage along the proximal base portions 25 when the two halves 9a, 9b are assembled And by joining the two short upper struts 21 of the reinforcing frames 18 to one another. The short lower connecting tubes 16,17 of each frame 11 are also joined to the two corresponding short lower connecting tubes 22,23 of the frame 18 and likewise the frame 11 Are coupled along two long side strut tubes 19, 20 of the frame 18. The two long side strut tubes 12,

Finally, each half 9a, 9b of the reinforcing module 9 is connected to each other by the same short upper strut tube 29 as the short upper strut 15, 21 of the frames 11, In the form of an inverted V constituted by two long side strut tubes 27, 28 identical to one another and with the long tubes 12, 13 of the frame 11 and the long tubes 19, 20 of the frame 18 A third independent inflatable structure 26 is included outside the polygonal frame 11 with respect to the center of the module 9. The inverted V-shaped structure 26 thus reinforces the assembly constructed by the frames 11, 18 by overlapping the side braces 12, 13 as well as the upper braces 15, The side braces 27 and 28 and the short upper braces 29 of the bracket 26 are respectively coupled to the side braces 12 and 13 and the top braces 15 over their entire length.

When the two halves 9a and 9b are connected together along the struts 25 and the two upper struts 21 of the two truncated U-shaped lower tubes 24, Shaped frame 24 extending in the same plane as the two lower struts 14 of the two frames 11 to form an X-shaped brace extending in the inflated state from a hollow, truncated pyramid and the angled corners are formed by two tightening frames 11 and 18 and side strut tubes 12,13,19,20 and 27 of the inverted V- 28) of the reinforcing module (9).

Each intermediate reinforcement module 10 as shown in Figure 2B is distinguished from the end reinforcement module 9 of Figures 2a, 6, and 7 by the removal of only two inverted V-shaped inflatable structures 26. Therefore, all of the above described for the fabrication and construction of the end reinforcement module 9 can be repeated for fabrication and construction of the intermediate reinforcement module 10, and in particular, two identical symmetrical halves Has one difference that each half comprises only two independent inflatable structures that make up the hexagonal close strengthening frame 11 and the multiple close tightening frame 18, The X-shaped braces for maintaining the expectation are made in exactly the same way as for the reinforcing module 9.

As a result, in the expanded state, each intermediate reinforcing module 10 also has a generally external shape of a hollow, disconnected pyramid with a square or rectangular base, and the tilted edges of the intermediate reinforcing module 10 are located in such module 10 And the side support tubes 12,13 and 19,20 of the two frames 18 so that each end reinforcement module 9 is made up of six independent inflation < RTI ID = 0.0 >Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 4 < / RTI > independent inflatable structures.

Each reinforcing module 9,10, the tubes 12,13,19,20 and optionally the tubes 27,28 have two substantially triangular opposing sides as well as facing and substantially triangular The modules 9,10 are installed around the three longitudinal beams 5,6 and around the chute 7 and the longitudinal tubes 5,6 of the longitudinal beams 5,6 (8), one on the upstream face faces the inlet end of the slide (1), and the other on the downstream face faces the outlet end of the slide (1). The upstream and downstream surfaces are therefore the faces of each of the three longitudinal beams 5, 6 of the slide 1 and of the reinforcing modules 9, 10 through which the chute 7 has passed. In addition, the base of each reinforcing module 9, 10 is formed by a lower strut tube 14 located upstream and a lower strut tube 14 located downstream, Shaped U-shaped lower tubes (24) of the module in the expanded state of the reinforcing module (9, 10), the X-shaped braces being held by two side The lower beams 6 and the chute 7 as shown in Fig.

Thus, because of the fact that each of the end modules 9 comprises a larger number of independent inflatable structures than the respective intermediate reinforcing module 10, in their inflated state, only their bases are disposed side by side Two end reinforcement modules 10 than each of the intermediate reinforcement modules 10 between the two end modules 9 or intermediate reinforcement modules 10 without any mechanical connection with the two end modules 9, (9) are understood to be more rigid.

Although the reinforcing modules 9, 10 are not connected to each other or are connected to each other by means of expansion means, they are not only connected to the longitudinal tubes 8 of the three longitudinal beams 5, 6 by the connecting means Is connected to a part of the longitudinal tubes (8) of these beams (5, 6) by an expansion means.

More specifically, each of the four or six independent inflatable structures of each of the intermediate or end reinforcement modules 10, 9 is supported by nine inflatable structures, One for each of the four or six of the longitudinal tubes 8 and for either pair of immediately adjacent reinforcing modules 10 or 9 and 10, one of these two modules A plurality of independent inflatable structures of the two modules are connected to the inflatable tubes 8 of the longitudinal beams 5 and 6 in a way that the corresponding inflatable structures of the other of these two modules are connected to the inflatable tubes 8 . For example, with respect to the immediately adjacent upper end reinforcement module 9 and the intermediate reinforcement module 10, two independent inflatable structures (not shown) constituted by the two upstream hexagonal seal strengthening frames 11 of these two modules (8) damage intended to supply inflation gas to two independent or corresponding inflatable structures of these two modules or to two inflatable structures of one module (9 or 10) In order to avoid too much shrinkage of the portion of the slide 1 among these two modules 9 and 10, it is not inflated from the same longitudinal tube 8.

The lower side braces formed by the short tubes 16,17,22,23 and the additional support of the short upper brace formed by the short tubes 15,21,29 can be connected to the reinforcing modules 9,10, In particular, it is connected to the two side bottom beams 6 and extends below the evacuation chute 7, as well as to the other tubes of the sealed reinforced frames 11, 18 of these modules, (14, 24) connected to the side braces comprising inflatable side tubes (12, 13, 19, 20, 27, 28) connected to the lower side ribs (5) The inflated slide 1 has a good rigidity and is capable of providing a sufficient rigidity to the slide 1 in the inflated state Which is a prism having a hexagonal cross section, that is, six large and three small) planes.

The bottom of the slide 1 at the outlet end comprises an inflatable transverse tube 30 at the downstream end and the inflatable transverse tube 30 at the downstream end comprises two spaced apart regions 30, To the downstream ends of the inflatable longitudinal tubes 8 at the bottom of the two side underbones 6, the transverse tube 30 being connected to the two inflatable and curved end extensions 31 By means of which the tubes 8 extend downwards laterally beyond the said areas connected to the beams 6 of the slide 1 and optionally also above and behind a portion of the upper floating tube 33 of the lifeboat 3. [ By means of at least partial engagement of the two expanded end extensions 31, provides adequate contact between the lower end of the slide 1 and the lifeboat 3. The positions of these transverse tubes 30 and their end extensions 31 as well as their position relative to the side bottom beams 6 are shown in Figures 2 and 2c.

In order to ensure the connection of the other reinforcing modules 9, 10 to the expandable longitudinal tubes 8 of the three beams 5, 6, the connecting means are advantageously detachable mechanical fastening devices of known type , Each of which includes an externally threaded tubular end piece that allows threaded connection to two watertight connectors each secured on a respective one of the two inflatable tubes to be connected to one another. The central passage of the tubular end piece is sealed and this device provides a discontinuous and removable mechanical fastening between the inflatable tube 8 of the longitudinal beam 5 or 6 and the inflatable tube of the reinforcing module 9 or 10 10 of the expandable tubes 8 of the beams 5 and 6 and the contact areas or contact points between the two inflatable tubes to be connected together it is not necessary to provide such a detachable mechanical fastening device. By opening the central passage of the tubular end piece, a removable mechanical fastening device can simultaneously constitute a pneumatic interconnecting device between two tubes mechanically connected to each other, Such fastening devices with end pieces can be advantageously used, so that the expansion of one of the two tubes can be performed from the other. In this way, the other tubes constituting the independent inflatable structures of the other fixing modules 9, 10 are mechanically fixed to the tubes 8 of the beams 5, 6, as well as a mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide The cylinders are inflated using these tubes 8 which are self-inflated from the cylinders of the compressed gas mixture which is constituted, for example, the cylinders are equipped with structural equipment comprising a retracted folded slide 1 and a lifeboat 3 Is placed under the bottom plate of the cradle 4 installed on the vessel 2 for storage and the retracted folded slide is wrapped around a container (not shown) in which the lifeboat 3 is folded and retracted .

With respect to the structural equipment according to the invention, in relation to at least one inflatable slide for inflatable lifeboats, it will be understood that on the one hand the inflatable slide, which has already been described in WO 95/14605 and arranged in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the document, 3 and on the other hand, the configurations illustrated in Applicant's document FR 2912111 and shown in the storage form in Fig. 6 of the literature, the arrangement and expansion in Fig. 7 and finally in use form in Fig. 8 Should essentially be distinguished only by the structure of the slide 1 itself.

However, although the deformable and releasable slide 1-life boat 3 connection connecting devices may be those used in similar rescue equipment formally known in the art, the present invention may be applied to known rescue equipment, Lifting boat connection transformable and releasable connection function, as schematically indicated by reference numeral 32 in Figures 8-10 corresponding to sub-item (VIII) of Figure 1, quot; three rings "type of releasable connection device.

The devices 32 are two side assemblies each of which is connected to the upper end of the lifeboat 3 and more precisely the upper portion of the upper floating tube 33 (which is a partial cross section of Figures 8 and 9) And each of these two devices 32 is mounted on the side of the inflatable transverse tube 30 at the downstream end which is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the transverse tube 30, Is placed on each one of two areas of the tube (30) positioned close to two side edges of the outlet end of the tube (1).

9, at the cut-out of the upper floating tube 33 of the lifeboat 3, the connecting device 32 consists of two parts and is connected to the strap holder plate 36 by a strap 35, And the strap holder plate 36 is a reinforcing plate that is fixed on the corresponding side portion of the transverse tube 30 and has openings through which the straps pass. The presence of such a plate 36 is not essential, but is desirable when connecting between the slide 1 and the high-capacity lifesaving boat 3. [ The straps 35 of the two mechanisms 34 can be fastened directly to the tube 30 for a releasable and deformable connection to the small-capacity lifesaving boat 3. Each mechanism 34 includes a "three-ring lift" assembly 37 in which a large ring or catch 38 of the assembly is secured to the lifeboat 3 by a strap (not shown) The strap is connected to the upper tube 33 of the lifeboat 3 for attachment at the other end of the strap to the larger ring or latch 38 of the other tree ring mechanism 34 of the same device 32. For example, It passes around. Each latch 38 connected to the lifeboat 3 is intended to receive a ring 39 of medium size at the end of the loop of strap 35 and is connected to the middle ring 39, Is passed by a small ring 40 which carries a small loop which is held by a small ring 40 held by another loop connected to the strap 35 and which passes through a small plate which is also connected to the strap 35, The portion of this small loop that protrudes over the small plate can be removed by a fixation member, such as a pyrotechnic release system 41, which is referred to as a "pyrotechnic knife " (Release) of the small loop can be released from the intermediate ring 39 and eventually cause the release of the small ring 40 that can be released from the latch 38, (32) of the device (3) Guarantees.

Of course, the other tree ring mechanisms are the same, and are remotely controlled for unlocking by the other flame liberating system 41. In the variant, a remote release can be provided by means of a pneumatic actuator, and according to another variant, the release can be carried out manually by an operator located in the lifeboat 3. [

With respect to connecting the slide 1 to the storage cradle 4 installed on the vessel 2 by means of the upper end of the slide 1, this can be done as in a conventional state of the structural equipment.

Preferably, however, the rescue equipment of the present invention comprises a reservoir and an emergency cradle (4) for an assembly constituted by at least one lifeboat (3) and a container into which its expansion means is housed, and a slide 1). The cradle 4 may include a thrust plate with a concave front surface for pushing at least a portion of the slide-container assembly over the protruding sliding plate 42, Slides on the bottom plate of the cradle 4 covering the expansion cylinders for the ship 2 such that the projecting sliding plates 42 are spaced apart from the edge of the deck of the ship 2 to launch the lifeboat / Projecting against the deck of the vessel 2 and causing the upper end of the slide 1 to begin to unfold after a toggle plate has provided the assembly on the sliding plate 42. Thus, the slide 1 can be positioned and inflated directly beneath the storage and power cradle 4 without the risk of interference or jamming due to equipment configurations or surface discontinuities on the ship 2 hull.

In order to increase the speed of evacuation through the slide 1, the chute 7 is supported by a flexible separating partition 7c, which supports the middle and is suspended over the entire length of the slide 1, It is advantageous to subdivide into adjacent tracks 7a and 7b (see FIG. 5). This variant is suitable for ships carrying a large number of passengers.

Claims (16)

An inflatable escape slide for evacuating persons from a ship (2) to at least one inflatable rescue boat (3)
- triple longitudinal beams (5, 6) each comprising at least two individually inflatable longitudinal tubes (8) connected in parallel and adjacent lengthwise, Triple longitudinal beams (5, 6) comprising two side lower beams (6) and a central upper beam (5) spaced apart and parallel to each other;
Means intended to support the people during the evacuation of the people through the slide 1 and to connect the two side underbones 6 and to connect between the two side underbones 6 and to the vessel 2 A flexible chute 7 continuously extending over the entire length of the slide 1 from the inlet end with the slide 1 to the outlet end with the slide 1 / lifeboat 3 connection connecting devices which can be deformed and released;
A lower braces including inflatable lower tubes (14, 24) connected to the two side lower rods (6) and extending below the roving chute (7); And
The longitudinal ribs 5, 6 in the expanded state, including the inflatable side tubes 12, 13, 19, 20, 27, 28 connected to the central upper beam 5 and the side lower beams 6, And a side brace for reinforcing the structure of the slide (1) by providing a cross-section having a generally triangular shape,
The inflatable tubes 12,13,14,19,20,24 of the lower and side braces are disposed within the expandable airtight reinforced frames 11,18 and the airtight reinforced frames 11,18 are positioned within the inflated Wherein the tubes of the reinforcing frames 11,18 are surrounded by three longitudinal beams 5,6 connected by connecting means and expansion means through the longitudinal beams 5,6, . The method according to claim 1,
The lower and side braces are arranged in mechanically and geometrically independent inflatable reinforcing modules (9, 10) with each other, and each of the reinforcing modules (9, 10) comprises a chute (7) 5 and 6 and is arranged side by side with the base of the reinforcing modules 9 and 10 from one end of the slide 1 to the other end and the reinforcing modules 9 and 10 are connected to the connecting means and the expansion means Is connected to the three longitudinal beams (5, 6) by means of a guide rail. 3. The method of claim 2,
Each reinforcement module 9,10 is a segmented assembly comprising a number of inflatable structures 11,18, 26 connected together, each inflatable structure having an inflation < RTI ID = 0.0 > Characterized in that it seals a possible sealed segment. The method of claim 3,
Each reinforcing module (9, 10) comprises at least one inflatable structure forming a hexagonal close strengthening frame (11) in an expanded state, and the hexagonal close strengthening frame (11) comprises two side braces 13 and 14 which constitute the lower braces 14 and the lower braces 14 toward the lower ends of the side braces 12 and 13, Three short tubes 15,16,17 constituting a short upper brace 15 connecting the upper ends of the two lower side braces 16,17 of the ends and the two side braces 12,13 ) Alternately. 5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
Each reinforcing module (9, 10) has a general external shape of a hollow, disconnected pyramid with a square or rectangular base in its expanded state,
The tilted edges of the reinforcing modules 9 and 10 define the sides of two opposing triangles, the upstream surface facing the inlet end of the slide 1 and the downstream surface facing the outlet end of the slide 1 The upstream and downstream faces which are formed by the strut tubes 12, 13, 19, 20, 27, 28 and which are opposite and triangular are passed by the three longitudinal beams 5, 6 and the chute 7 ,
The base of each reinforcing module 9,10 is supported by two side underbelts in the expanded state of the reinforcing modules 9,10 and an X-shaped brace 24,24 extending below the chute 7 The upstream lower strut tube 14 and the downstream lower strut tube. 6. The method of claim 5,
Each reinforcing module (9, 10) includes an outer hexagonal frame (11) upstream and an outer hexagonal frame (11) downstream in the expanded state,
Each of the upstream outer hexagonal frame 11 and the downstream outer hexagonal frame 11 has two long tubes 19 corresponding to each of the upstream internal polygonal frame 18 and the downstream internal polygonal frame 18, Two long side strut tubes 12 and 13 and three short tubes 15,16 and 16 toward the inside of the modules 9 and 10 by means of three short tubes 20 and 20 and three short tubes 21,22 and 23, 17 to form an independent, inflatable structure,
Each of the upstream internal polyhedron 18 and the downstream internal polyhedron 18 constitute another independent inflatable structure and are connected by the ends of the U-shaped arms to a corresponding upstream or downstream internal polyhedron 18, And a lower tube (24) in the form of a trumpet U connected to two lower side short tubes (22, 23)
At the same time, each lower U-shaped tube 24 is connected to a U-shaped (not shown) of the corresponding lower tube 24 of another internal polyhedron 18 to form an X- Is connected to the base (25) over the length of the U-shaped base (25). 5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
One of each of the two end reinforcement modules 9, which is stronger than the intermediate reinforcement modules 10 installed between the two end reinforcement modules 9 in the expanded state, is included in each of the two ends of the slide As shown in FIG. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein each end reinforcement module (9) comprises a greater number of inflatable structures than each intermediate reinforcement module (10). 9. The method of claim 8,
At least one end reinforcement module (9) includes at least two additional independent inflatable structures (26)
Each of the inflatable structures 26 has an overall shape of the inverted V and includes two long side strut tubes 12,13 and a short upper strut tube 12,13 each of one of the upstream and downstream outer frames 11, The at least one end reinforcement module 9 is constituted by two long side brace tubes 27 and 28 and a short upper brace tube 29 which are connected on their respective lengths 15 on at least one end 15, RTI ID = 0.0 > inflatable < / RTI > structures. The method according to claim 3 or 4,
The corresponding inflatable structures of the two adjacent reinforcing modules 9,10 of the slide 1 are largely divided by the respective inflation means into the other inflatable longitudinal tubes 8 of the longitudinal beams 5,6, Is connected to the slide. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The outlet end of the slide 1 is connected via two areas spaced apart from the downstream ends of the inflatable longitudinal tubes 8 of the two side bottom underbones 6 and the two curved, Extend laterally beyond the areas connected to the two side bottom beams 6 of the slide 1 by the portions 31 to extend the contact area between the slide 1 and the lifeboat 3 The inflatable cross tube (30) at the downstream end to allow for the movement of the slide. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The connecting means provide discontinuous fixation between the inflatable tubes 8 of the longitudinal bows 5 and 6 and the inflatable side and lower bracing tubes 12,13,14,19,20,24 ≪ / RTI > wherein the slides are removable mechanical fastening devices. 13. The method of claim 12,
A part of the detachable mechanical fastening devices of the inflatable tubes of the beams (5,6) towards the inflatable side or lower brace tubes (12,13,14,19,20,24) is connected to the inflation means of the brace tubes Wherein the slides are formed at the same time. As rescue equipment for the passengers and crew of the vessel 2,
At least one inflatable lifeboat (3) folded and stored in a retracted state and having associated inflation means in the container, and an inflatable escape slide folded in a retracted state and wrapped around the container,
The inlet end of the slide is attached to the ship 2 by a connecting means and the outlet end of the slide is connected to the lifeboat 3 in the container by means of deformable and releasable slide / lifeboat connection devices 32 And,
Characterized in that the slide is a slide (1) according to any one of the preceding claims. 15. The method of claim 14,
The deformable and releasable slide-lifting boat connection connecting devices 32 are two side assemblies, each of which is adjacent to one of two side edges of the outlet end of the slide 1 And each of the two side assemblies includes two releasable connecting devices of the so-called "three rings" shape 34 which are pneumatically or pneumatically or remotely released by manual and local means, Is connected to the slide 1 by straps 35 and is connected to the lifeboat 3 by other straps attached to at least one ring 38 of the tri ring devices 34 Rescue equipment. 15. The method of claim 14,
An assembly composed of at least one liferaft 3 and a container comprising its expansion means and a slide 1 wrapped around the container are received in a storage and launch cradle 4 for said assembly,
The cradle 4 is designed to be fixed on the deck of the vessel 2 and the cradle 4 is supported on a recessed Characterized in that it comprises a toggle plate for securing the transfer and arrangement of the container-slide assembly with spacing to the edge of the deck of the ship (2) as well as the thrust plate with the front face.

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