WO2005049384B1

WO2005049384B1 - Self-inflatable devices used in the form of floats and/or impact energy absorbers

Info

Publication number: WO2005049384B1
Application number: PCT/FR2004/002991
Authority: WO
Inventors: Georges Kach
Original assignee: Georges Kach
Priority date: 2003-11-20
Filing date: 2004-11-22
Publication date: 2005-08-04
Also published as: WO2005049384A1; FR2862603B1; FR2862603A1

Abstract

The invention relates to self-inflatable devices usable in the form of floats and/or impact energy absorbers. The self-inflatable floats are attached to a boat structure and can be rapidly inflated by the atmosphere pressure in the case of emergency, thereby producing a sufficient surplus buoyancy in order to reduce a risk of sinking and save the boat and the users thereof. Said self-inflatable floats are designed in such a way that they are easily compacted, can have different shapes and sizes and are provided with numerous options which enable the floats to be used for many purposes for maritime, road, railway and air transport. Each self-inflatable float consists on an envelop (2), an elastic compression unit (3) and a control unit (4), wherein the elastic compression unit (3) is completely flattenable like a helicoidal compression spring exposed to a load, the envelop (2) contains said elastic compression unit by enveloping it all around, comprises an opening (8) and is embodied in such a way that it is soft and impermeable for any fluid, gas or liquid such as air, fresh water, sea water, petrol, oil etc, the control unit (4) makes it possible to manage the passage of any fluid through the opening (8) between the external side of said envelop and the inside space thereof and vice versa and can be open and closed.

Claims

AMENDED CLAIMS [received by the International Bureau on 21 June 2005 (21.06.2005); original claims 1-27, amended claims 1-29]. + DECLARATION

claims

1) Self-inflating device consisting of an envelope (2), an elastic compression means (3) and a control means (4) such that: - the envelope (2) contains the compression means elastic band (3) wrapping it completely on all sides and has an opening (8), said casing is flexible and impermeable, - the control means (4) makes it possible to manage the passage through the opening (8) of any fluid, gas or liquid, between the outside and the inside of said envelope and vice versa, then this passage can take place when said control means is opened and can not occur when closing said control means, characterized in that: the elastic compression means (3) is a helical compression spring which has a number of turns distributed between its two ends including a turn (10) at one of its ends and a turn (11) at On the other end, the size of the turns follows a monotonous progression, increasing or decreasing, going from one end to the other so that the spring can flatten completely to take the form of a planar spiral when placed on a horizontal plane support and subjected to a load greater than or equal to a minimum flattening load of its own, said device can have one of the following forms: cone, truncated cone, pyramid, truncated pyramid, spherical segment, half-sphere, pile of sand, tetrahedron, .. .

2) A self-inflatable device according to claim 1 characterized in that going from one end to the other of the spring (3) the size of the turns follows a progression first increasing to a maximum intermediate turn and then decreasing so that said spring can flatten completely and take the form of two superimposed spirals when placed on a horizontal plane support and subjected to a load greater than or equal to a minimum flattening load which it is proper, said device can have one of the following forms: sphere, spherical segment, double pyramid, double cone, barrel, ovoid, ...

3) Self-inflatable device according to claim 1 characterized in that going from one end to the other of the spring (3) the size of the turns follows a progression first decreasing to a minimum intermediate turn and then increasing so that said spring can flatten completely and take the form of two superimposed spirals when placed on a horizontal plane support and subject to a load greater than or equal to a flattening load of flattening which it is proper, said spring resembles a bi-conical spring and said device can have one of the following forms: cylinder, truncated cylinder, prism, truncated prism, parallelepiped, cube, rhombohedron, ... 26 there are as many control means as openings (8), each control means is associated with a single opening (8), when a spring (3) relaxes, it spreads the base of the envelope (2 ) from its top, to move said device from the compressed state to the inflated state, simply deploy the envelope (2), unlock all security systems when they exist, open one or more control means, to pull on said envelope in the length and width directions in order to optimize its deployment and finally to close all the control means when all the springs (3) are sufficiently elongated and that said device has reaches its maximum volume, to move said device from the inflated state to the compressed state, just open some of the control means, compress the springs (3) and / or suck the air to using a vacuum cleaner, blocking security systems when they exist, and finally e close all the control means when all the springs (3) have been completely compressed and said device has reached its minimum volume, said device can be used in the manufacture of a large self-inflating device.

20) Self-inflatable device according to any one of claims 1 to 19 characterized in that some of its elastic compression means (3) are each composed of an articulated pantograph associated with elastic traction means and / or elastic torsion means and / or at least one compression spring such that: the pantograph is composed of a number of arms articulated with each other by means of a certain number of axes and can retract to reduce its dimensions or to lengthen to increase its dimensions, the elastic traction means such as tension springs or elastic bands connect each of them two elements of the pantograph, arm or axle, or an element of the pantograph (arm or axle) to the casing (2) or one of the plates (20) or (21) so that they together promote the elongation of said pantograph and resist its shrinkage, the elastic torsion means such as springs d tors are each fixed around an axis of the pantograph so that they together promote the extension of said pantograph and resist its shrinkage, each compression spring connects an arm of the pantograph to one of the plates so that it promotes the elongation of said pantograph and resists shrinkage.

21) Self-inflatable device according to the preceding claim characterized in that the elastic compression means of the self-inflatable device is composed of an articulated pantograph system (200) having at least one stage, four wheels (205) and a traction spring (206) such as:

each pantograph stage comprises two pairs of articulated scissors located in two parallel planes connected by means of the axes (209), each pair of scissors is composed of two arms (201) and (202) articulated using the axes (209)

said pantograph is fixed on the plates (20) and (21) on the same side by means of fixing elements (204),

- The wheels (205) are fixed on the ends of four arms of the pantograph and roll on the plates (20) and (21).

the spring (206) connects an arm (201) to an arm (202). 22) Self-inflatable device according to the preceding claim characterized in that at least one wheel is replaced by a guide system with a sheath sliding along an axis, said axis is fixed on a plate.

23) Use of an auto-inflatable device according to any one of claims 1 to 22 as a float independent or integrated with a safety system of a boat or a ship.

24) Use of a self-inflating device according to any one of claims 1 to 22 as a shock energy absorber incorporated in a vehicle security system.

25) Use of an auto-inflatable device according to any one of claims 1 to 22 as a self-inflating mattress and / or vest and / or protective suit for riders or bikers.

26) Use of an auto-inflatable device according to any one of claims 1 to 22 as an educational toy for children

28) Use of a self-inflating device according to any one of claims 1 to 22 as a shock energy absorber incorporated in a roadside safety system installed on the edge of a road.

29) A method of compressing and / or inflating an auto-inflatable device according to any one of claims 1 to 22 characterized in that: the passage of said device from the compressed state to the inflated state is to open at at least one of its control means to let the air inside its envelope, then to close all its control means so that said device can become impermeable again, - the passage of said device from the inflated state to the compressed state is to open at least one of its control means to expel the air from the inside of its envelope to the outside by compressing said device using the hands or any other means, or by aspiring air with a vacuum cleaner and finally close all its control means so that said device can become waterproof again.

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