US2938488A

US2938488A - Inflatable salvage device

Info

Publication number: US2938488A
Application number: US669052A
Authority: US
Inventors: Stewart S Hathaway
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1957-07-01
Filing date: 1957-07-01
Publication date: 1960-05-31
Anticipated expiration: 1977-05-31

Description

May 3l, 1960 s. s. HATHAwAY 2,938,488

INFLATABLE sALvAGE DEVICE Filed July 1, 1957 INVENTOR. STEWART s. HATHAWAY AT TORNE Y United States Patent ice I i PatentedMay, 31, 12960- INFLATABLE SALVAGE DEVICE -I Stewart S. Hathaway, 95 Milton Road, Rye, N.Y.

Filed July 1, 1957, Ser. No. 669,052

2 Claims. (Cl. 114-54) Thisjinvention relatesto a buoyancy device andin particular to an inilatable container suitable Yfor use in changing the buoyancy of a body submergedin Water..

vSubmerged vessels frequently Vcarryenough valuable matterto justify extreme salvage efforts but, 4in any case, withithe passage of timeifthe objective in investigating thevessel is not salvage it is likely-to be pure curiosity.

A' variety of devices have been made for the purpose,4

each of which has its particular advantage in its own circumstances. In general, devices depend upon pontoonsfor raising kthe sunken vessel. Y

Itis a fundamental object of this invention toprovide as'imple device inflatable after a time delay for use in `altering the buoyancy of a submerged object.

f It is'another object of the invention to provide a simple inflatable devicewhich can be placed' in a submerged object and after a time automatically become inllated to.

tion fwith gas generating means and a gas retaining means,

such that upon submersion in water, with action ofthe water, there is a time delay followed by gas generation and ination ofacooperating gas container so that the 45 ultimate 'inflated' volume of the device is many times the volume of the uninflated device.

The invention,accordingly, is embodied in the agent containing cartridge and valve mechanism having the features of construction, the combination of velements and 50 the arrangement of partshereinafterltobe described in greater detail. l Y Y iIrithe drawings- Figure 1 isa longitudinal section through theffcart'ridge structurev made in'accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the device showing the parts after reaction and ination of the gas container;

Figure 3 is a general diagram showing how the device is put to use, and

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section showing an alternative form.

Referring now to the drawings, in Figure l, ,10 represents the cartridge having a cylindrical body 11, with the ends having threads 12 and 13. The cap 14 is screwed 65 2 sion and `'to prevent the admission of water Within the cap until thejdesi'red time interval has elapsed.

Internally, longitudinal shaft 20 extends substantially thelength of the Acapsule and is provided at one end with 5 a plunger 21 fixed tothe shaft by nuts 21. Shaft r20 acts as a guide'for the plungers Within the capsule. Ata point removed from. plunger 21 by a known distance, plunger 22 is slidably mounted on the shaft. In the positionshown in thed'rawing, a third plunger or collar 23 is Xed inthe Vcapsule approximately midway between the plungersor. collars 21v and 22. Collar 23 is held in place,

by detents l24 and 25.'v .The latter may take the form ofv set screws or any other equivalentY mechanical devices.

Orifices 27 and 28 in collar 23' provide for internal communication between the chambers 29` and 30 formed by.. the collars within the capsule. Any number of'oriices corresponding to 27 and 28 may be provided. In general twoA or four will be adequate. Membrane or disk23 is placedadjacent to 'collar 23 to effect separation of compartments 29 andfiit) and -preventsmixing of contents..- It mayfbel formed of. plastic, not affected by acid used,

` and' sufii'ciently thinv to bebroken under pressure. Also, o rices 31 and'32'in the wall of the capsule are provided to communicate with the exterior, of the valve. Tapered` plugs 31 andv 32,' are set in these orifices to prevent entryl i of water, yetto, permit blowingthem out'by internally generated gals'.V `Surrounding the entire structure is the inflatablebag or container 35 which is .tightly fastened around the neck ofthev capsule by means of the collar 15.

f Plug 1 8, which. is the seal, may bemade of any metal whichis quicklyl co roded by water. It also must be of asize adequate ,towithstand'the pressure at whichth'e device is to beuSe'dQf l'I-Ierein is Vone of the advantages of this structure over-'underwater devices which employr a frangible disk; Any device using the frangible disk does` not permit time ydelay beyond that requiredk tonplace it atA the predetermined depth.

For purposes of this invention, aluminum disk or'plugs I are desirablev fora relatively-long period of delay. For

shorter periods' magnesiuml or magnesium-aluminum alloys mayv be used. These latter are of value, because they have high strength, but the magnesium is quite reactive with water and the plug may be made to dissolve with relatively high degree of time control. i

Plunger 21, as shown, may consist of a metal disk ywith a matching rubber seal`21. Plunger 22 is similarly constructed with seal 22.Y Rubber or other synthetic rubberlike Asealing material` which will provide a close lit isy reactable with additional chemical material placed in the chamber 30 to1 produce a gas. In operation, therefore, whenv the kdevice'jis submerged and the plug 18.isV dissolved,v hydrostatic pressure appliedto lthe .plunger 21 55 moves itY toward theix'ed collar 23, thereby applying' pressure to disk 23', fracturing it and forcing material from chamber 29 into chamber 30 where reaction takes place. The gas generated forces collar 22 to slide on shaft 20 is to a position corresponding, for example, to

that shown in dotted lines, where it is stopped by stop nut 20', whereupon gas pressure builds up within the chamber, dislodges

plugs

31 and 32 and gas escapes through

orifices

31 and 32 to inflate the bag 3S. Upon exhaustion of the chemical material by full reaction, the bag will be rather fully inated and there is little danger of having the gas escape.

Relief valves

36 and 37 may be set in the bag 3S to keep gas pressure in the bag to a safe level. Also, the amount of gas to be generated is subject to close control by the size and nature of charge used in

chambers

29 and 30.

Suitable reactant materials for enclosure within the

chambers

29 and 30 are acid materials for 29, such as The chamber is charged with; 'chemical material ,i

sulfuric or aceticr acids, and for the chamber 30 alkali metal' carbonate or bicarbonate'. It is' preferable that' the' reactants used leave a water soluble or non-bulky residue.

However, despite this matter,vit is also possibleto usel calcium* carbide in' chamberl 30 and water in'cham'be'r 29.

The `only disadvantageV of this combinationis'that the acetylene' produced is ammable and' can involve so'm risks inthe ultimate work around thevessel. n

Since the device maybe treated as expendable and may be intended for single occasion use, the materials of coni struction may correspond. Generally, I have found com'- mon iron pipe, ttings', and' rod useful for the 'b`ody"11, caps 14, 16, collar

Internal plungers

21, 22 and collar 23 may be of rubber or synthetic rubber materials, for example, Alternately a complete plastic device may be used. That is, all parts may be formed of materials' amount of gas generated within the capsule is approxi-V mately an optimum amount for inilating the bag to the desired degree. In providing the bag, the depths at which it is to be used must be taken into account andl it' should be provided with relief valves or be inflated witha volume of gas which. it can retain at sea level..` i That' is, if used at extreme depth and inflated at extremejdepth', the gas would be under quite high pressure (30 feet Yofiwater would bean extra atmosphere of pressure)` and, accordingly, the bag could burst as itreachedA the surface. This phenomenon also works to the advantageof the devicev for in raising a vessel by placing inflatedbagsfin it, the decompression of theA gas afteran equilibriuml floating buoyancy is reached, increases the net buoyancy of the vessel andV causes it to rise rapidly.

Figure 3 illustrates the means for using. the capsules il` a salvage operation. In Figure 3, 50 represents a body to divers, because a plurality of the capsules may be taken down to' a vessel and carefully set' in place, with ample time for the diver to do the job and leave the scene.

IFigure 4 illustrates an alternative form of device in which the structure is varied. Therein shaft 20, and collar 23 correspond to those shown in Figure l. Plunger 40 corresponds to 22 of Figure l but is fixed in place on shaft by

stop nuts

41 and 42, In operation, therefore,

` when plugs-f18 and 18,'V dissolve,

plungers

21 and 40 move with shaft 20, i.e., to fixed collar 4`3l`whicl1 is held in place by

detents

44 and 45. Shaft 20 slides freely in

collars

23 and 43 and the amount of movement is l fixed by the distance between the end of shaft 20 and the cap 14. Vents 3-1 and 32 are spaced from collar 43 suiiiciently to permit free discharge of gas when the plunger 40 has moved past orices 31 and 32.

Though the invention has been described with reference to only a limited number of examples, it is to be understood that variants thereof may be devised without' departing from its' spirit or scope..

What is claimed is:

' l'. A device for providing a time delayed action for inflation of a gas-retaining container in a position sub-v merged in water, comprising a suitable bag for retaining a` gas,` a capsule enclosed within said bag, a cap at onel end'of saidv capsule providing exterior communication and comprising a closure therefor, said capsule having internal sub-divisions, said sub-divisions containing gas generating means, an orilice in one of said subdivisions providing of water in which a vessel 51 is submerged'and rests on Y the bottom 52. A barge 53 having located the sunken vessel can connect with it by means of open pneumatic lines S4 and 55, these being applied by divers. Asuitable number of devices made in accordance with this invention are inserted and delivered tothe sunken vessel b'y Way of the hoses. .In fact pneumatic delivery tubes in which compressed air is the motive power are useful. Y Within the calculated period after delivery of the capsules to the vessel, reaction with the water in the submerged vessel will bring about chemical-reaction within the capsule and inilation of the bags. The cumulative etect of a. number of such bags, inated', is sucient to raise a vessel of any size. The time delay made possible by the water-reactive plug in the capsule is very useful communication with the interior of said bag,.and a- Water reactable plug in said cap, whereby following reaction ofsaid plug with water hydrostatic pressure forces said gas generating means to generate gasand iniiate -said Vcentainesthrough said orice communicating with 'the interior of said bag.

2'. A device for providing delayed action ination of a gas bag in a water submerged position, comprising a bag having. an opening therein and suitabley for retaining a given volume of gas, a capsule enclosed Within said bag, the opening in said bag being' gathered around one end o f said capsule, a cap covering said end of said capsule and forming a closure therefor, said capsule having va l plurality of internal'sub-divisions, said sub-divisions containing gas generating reactants, one of said sub-divisions having an orifice communicating with the interior of said bag, said cap being at least partially water reactable to dissolve therein, whereby following submersion of the device and reaction with Water, hydrostatic pressure forces mingling of vgas generating reactants within said capsule, thereby to generate gas and inate said container.

A References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 557,396 Kindt" Mar. 31', 1896 1,014,546 Wich Ian. 9', 1912 2,642,693 Broady June 23', 1953 2,768,601 Davis Oct. 30,' 1956 i