US3685066A

US3685066A - Liferaft inflation system

Info

Publication number: US3685066A
Application number: US122866A
Authority: US
Inventors: David V Edwards
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-03-10
Filing date: 1971-03-10
Publication date: 1972-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 1989-08-22

Abstract

A system for inflating the tubular areas of an inflatable liferaft from a gas cylinder, by enclosing the cylinder and valve mechanism inside a hermetically sealed container which is connected to the liferaft tubes by non-return valve. Actuation of the cylinder is by a cable operating through an air-tight sleeve, the cable leading to the cylinder valve, and because the sleeve is flexible and can be contracted by the cable, like a bellows, the cable can be pulled and the valve operated exterior to the container. Access to the cylinder for replacement or servicing may be employed by using an airtight slide fastener closing an opening in the container, or by opening, and thereafter closing, a seam. The container preferably is dimensioned and positioned so that it can be in the form of a boarding ramp or ladder-step mount.

Description

United States Patent Edwards [54] LIFERAFT INFLATION SYSTEM [72] Inventor: David V. Edwards, Mill Lane,

Neshanic, NJ. 08853 [22] Filed: March 10, 1971 [21] Appl. No: 122,866

[52] US. Cl. ..9/11 A, 9/2A [51] Int. Cl. ..B63c 9/04, B63b 7/08 [58] FieldofSearch ..9/ll A,2A,3l9,3l4,3l6, 9/318; ZZZ/3,5

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,023,932 3/1962 Hennis et al ..9/1l 3,037,218 6/1962 Brooks ..9/11 A 3,051,356 8/1962 Kirby ..222/5 3,144,667 8/1964 Dobbs ..9/3 16 3,173,162 3/1965 Elder ..9/316 3,212,112 10/1965 Reffell ..9/11 A 51 Aug. 22, 1972 Primary ExaminerMilton Buchler Assistant Examiner-Gregory W. OConnor Attorney-W. Lee Helms ABSTRACT A system for inflating the tubular areas of an inflatable liferaft from a gas cylinder, by enclosing the cylinder and valve mechanism inside a hermetically sealed container which is connected to the liferaft tubes by nonreturn valve. Actuation of the cylinder is by a cable operating through an air-tight sleeve, the cable leading to the cylinder valve, and because the sleeve is flexible and can be contracted by the cable, like a bellows, the cable can be pulled and the valve operated exterior to the container. Access to the cylinder for replacement or servicing may be employed by using an airtight slide fastener closing an opening in the container, or by opening, and thereafter closing, a seam. The container preferably is dimensioned and positioned so that it can be in the form of a boarding ramp or ladder-step mount.

PATENTEDwszz m2 INVENTOR. 94 054 VFW LIFERAFT INFLATION SYSTEM The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a vertical section through superimposed inflatable tubes of a liferaft, showing part of the sheet flooring, the section also being through a container in which the gas cylinder is positioned, and showing the sealed sleeve and cable leading to the cylinder valve.

FIG. 2 is an end view of a raft having superimposed tubes and the container mounted thereon in position to be used as a boarding ramp.

On rafts floated with inflatable tubing, the coating generally employed with the employed coated fabrics from which the tubing is made, particularly polychloroprene coatings, is liable to crack when stressed under low temperature flexing obtained during the inflation from the flat-folded form of the tubing. As corrective media protection liners have been fitted inside the tubes, but cracking during the initial stages of inflation is aggravated by carbon dioxide which, when expanded in inflation changes to dry ice in folds of the fabric before the folded tubing, by the gas pressure, is ejected from packaged form, as when held in a container-carrier. Since the exact points of fold cannot be determined in advance, protection liners, when used, must be fitted to the complete interior wall area of the tubes. Also in current liferafts the gas cylinders are mounted in pockets, and sometimes fail inflation due to corrosion of their valves and the kinking of their highpressure feed tubes. A purpose of the present invention is to overcome the said difficulties, by the following system.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, I have shown in transverse section superimposed tubes 1 of a liferaft, and it may be considered that they are at one end of a raft. The said inflatable tubes are held together in any suitable way, as by the flanged connecting members at 2. At 3 is indicated a sheet flooring. At 4 is a hermetically sealed container, with the exception that it may communicate with the tubes 1 via non-return flap valves 5. Within the sealed container 4 is shown a cylinder which will contain a gas under high pressure, as shown at 6, with a valve 7 adapted to be operated by pull on a cable 7. This cable leads downwardly through a flexible and contractable sleeve 8 and which is hermetically closed at its top by a closure 8 and which has a flanged base hermetically sealed to the bottom wall of container 4. The cable may be knotted at the top of the sleeve closure 8 so that when it is pulled downward sleeve 8 will be contracted, somewhat like a bellows, and the cable will open the valve. Of course the container 4 remains sealed in such operation.

When the cable is pulled and the gas cylinder is opened, the gas pressure builds up in the container 4 until the pressure therein opens the flap valves and the gas rushes into the tubing with full flow so that the folded raft tubing may be ejected from its carrier approaching instantaneous speed, and before dry-ice can build up in the tubing flods, thus removing the prime cause of tube-coating cracking. A further utility is that the gas cylinder, with its pressure head and valve, is kept free from corrosion, being hermetically sealed in container 4.

The cylinder container preferably is mounted on an angle on the exterior face of the inflatable tubular area of the raft, as indicated in FIG. 2, lying at an angle to serve as a ramp or step carrier.

It Wlll be understood that various modifications may be made in the embodiment illustrated, within the spirit of the annexed claims.

Having described my invention with I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. A liferaft inflation system, for tubular floation members having non-return valve openings and nonreturn valves controlling said valve openings, comprising a container having gas-egress openings adapted to be placed by said container into sealed open-connection with said valves, the container otherwise being hermetically sealed, a pressure-gas cylinder in said container and having a valve, a sleeve of resilient form in said container, the sleeve being hermetically sealed against ingress of gas from said container, and a cable connected operatively to the valve of the gas cylinder and to said sleeve, the cable leading out of the container for manual pull and to contract the sleeve, thereby opening the cylinder valve.

2. A liferaft inflation system for tubular floatation members, constructed in accordance with claim 1, said floatation numbers being disposed marginally of the liferaft general area, in which the container for the gas cylinder is attached to at least one of said floatation members, forming a boarding ramp for the liferaft inflatable by the gas cylinder.

Claims

1. A liferaft inflation system, for tubular floation members having non-return valve openings and non-return valves controlling said valve openings, comprising a container having gas-egress openings adapted to be placed by said container into sealed open-connection with said valves, the container otherwise being hermetically sealed, a pressure-gas cylinder in said container and having a valve, a sleeve of resilient form in said container, the sleeve being hermetically sealed against ingress of gas from said container, and a cable connected operatively to the valve of the gas cylinder and to said sleeve, the cable leading out of the container for manual pull and to contract the sleeve, thereby opening the cylinder valve.

2. A liferaft inflation system for tubular floatation members, constructed in accordance with claim 1, said floatation members being disposed marginally of the liferaft general area, in which the container for the gas cylinder is attached to at least one of said floatation members, forming a boarding ramp for the liferaft inflatable by the gas cylinder.