WO2009146512A1

WO2009146512A1 - Water rescue survival aid

Info

Publication number: WO2009146512A1
Application number: PCT/AU2009/000762
Authority: WO
Inventors: John Szymanski; Wayne Anthony Baddock
Original assignee: Szymanski, Michelle, Dawn; Baddock, Vivian, Maree
Priority date: 2008-06-06
Filing date: 2009-06-16
Publication date: 2009-12-10

Abstract

A survival aid comprising a container (11) having an upper face (13), the container having inherent buoyant characteristics such that in use when the container is supported on the water it will float with its upper face uppermost and it is able to at least partially support at least one person who is also at least partially supported by the water, the container defining a storage chamber (17) having an opening accessible from the upper face, the opening associated with a closure (19) adapted to be able to sealingly close the opening, the exterior of the container being provided with handles or like gripping elements (15) which are located proximate the upper face, wherein the inherent buoyancy of the container is not dependent upon any inherent buoyancy provided by the chamber and/or its contents

Description

WATER RESCUE SURVIVAL AID

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a survival aid and in particular is intended for use on yachts, vessels and the like to provide an aid in the event of sinking, capsizing or a person falling overboard and for the purposes of storage of safety and/or survival aids.

Background Art

In the case of boating, yachting and the like activity, it can be the case that a person will fall overboard or alternatively the vessel will capsize or sink unexpectedly causing the occupants to be tossed into the sea or alternatively another emergency not resulting in foundering of the vessel. Whilst it is a requirement that all vessels carry relevant survival aids such life jackets, inflatable dinghy's, electronic beacons (EPIRBs or the like) to cater for the situation when such an event occurs without warning it is sometimes impossible for the occupants to be able to gather all the desired survival aids before entering the water. In addition once the person is in the water, even if person is wearing their lifejacket, they are in a precarious situation.

In the instance of a person falling overboard, the other occupants of the vessel, if are able to, they can throw a life ring to the person in the water. However, once in the water a life ring has a relatively low profile in the water and it can be difficult for a person in the water to see and this can particularly be the case in rough or choppy seas. Furthermore once the person has reached the life ring and is being supported thereby it is then matter of the others in the vessel of being able to see the person and the life ring.

If the vessel has been capsized or only partially been sunk it is possible for the persons in the water to swim to the vessel and attempt to retrieve the necessary survival aids from the vessel, however this can be difficult since those aids may be underwater and access will require the person to dive into the interior of the vessel to retrieve the survival aids.

A further difficulty is that the safety equipment and/or survival aids are generally stored in available storage facilities in the vessel and may not necessarily be stored in the same place and/or in a position from which they can be readily extracted in an emergency .

A further problem is that certain emergency equipment cannot be allowed to become wet (e.g. flares and electronic signalling devices) and needs to be stored securely and safe from damage by water and unnecessary vibration or impact.

It is an object of the invention to provide a survival aid which will have advantages over the present facilities that are available

Disclosure of the Invention

Throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers

Accordingly the invention resides in survival aid comprising a container having an upper face, the container having inherent buoyant characteristics such that in use when the container is supported on the water it will float with its upper face uppermost and it is able to at least partially support at least one person who is also at least partially supported by the water, the container defining a storage chamber having an opening accessible from the upper face, the opening associated with a closure adapted to be able to sealingly close the opening, the exterior of the container being provided with handles or like gripping elements which are located proximate the upper face, wherein the inherent buoyancy of the container is not dependant upon any inherent buoyancy provided by the chamber and/or its contents According to a preferred feature of the invention the closure is associated with a latch which is arranged and configured to retain the closure in the closed position when in a locked position, said latch being arranged and configured to require manipulation to be movable to an unlocked position to enable the closure to be moved to an open position relative to the chamber.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the closure panel is provided with a biasing element which biases the closure to an open position

According to a preferred feature of the invention the latch is received in a recess provided in the upper face adjacent an edge of the closure, the latch being supported to lie adjacent the edge when in the locked position and being resiliently movable away from the edge to the locked position, the latch having a pawl element which is engaged with the closure when the latch is in the locked position and is disengaged from the closure when the latch is in the unlocked position.

According to a preferred feature of the invention said latch associated with a locking mechanism which will retain the latch in the locked position, said locking mechanism being capable of manipulation to cause it to be movable from an engaged position at which the latch is retained in the locked position and a disengaged position at which the latch can be movable by manipulation to the unlocked position. According to a preferred feature of the invention the locking mechanism comprises an arm which is pivotally supported to be movable from the engaged position at which it is received in the recess to be in abutting relationship with the latch and located to the opposite side of the latch from the edge to the disengaged position at which it extends outwardly from the recess to lie clear of the latch. According to a preferred feature of the invention the arm has visual characteristics such that it is visually apparent when in the disengaged position.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the locking mechanism has a retention element which will retain the locking mechanism in the engaged and disengaged position, the retention element requiring a predetermined amount of force to be applied to the locking means to enable the movement of the retention element from the engaged and disengaged positions.

According to a preferred feature of the invention wherein the retaining element comprises at least one dimple like protrusion and at least one mating recess in the opposed faces of the arm and the latch whereby the dimple and recess are inter- engaged when the arm is in engaged position and the disengaged position. According to a preferred feature of the invention the arm is pivotally supported from a spigot which extends laterally from the latch. According to a preferred feature of the invention the at least one dimple-like and at least one mating recess are located proximate the spigot and lie in a common rotation path around the spigot. According to a preferred feature of the invention the retention element further comprises a mating protrusion and second mating recess located at a position spaced from the spigot.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the container is coloured to be contrastingly apparent form the ambient environment when supported upon the water.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the chamber accommodates a support which is arranged and configured to in use to be able to receive and support rescue and/or survival aids whereby those items are supported by the support within the chamber to be substantially immovable, the mounting of the items to the support being releasable to enable the items to be removed from the chamber. According to a preferred feature of the invention the support is movable within the chamber on the closure being opened to a position at which at least a portion of the support extends from the chamber to provide access to the items supported by the support. According to a preferred feature of the invention the support is slidably supported within the chamber such that on the closure being opened the support can be moved outwardly from the chamber though the opening. According to an alternative preferred feature of the invention the support is pivotally supported within the chamber such that on the closure being opened the support can be moved partially outward of the chamber though the opening. According to a preferred feature of the invention the container comprises a number of chambers each associated with a closure.

According to a preferred feature of the invention wherein the container has a generally cylindrical configuration, said upper face comprising the one end face. According to a preferred feature of the invention the one end is associated with said handles.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the container has a disc-like configuration.

According to a preferred feature of the invention the container is provided with a fastening adapted to retain the container in position on a vessel, said fastening being arranged and configured to not be able to withstand strong inertial forces.

The invention will be more fully understood in the light of the following description of several specific embodiments.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings of which

Figure 1 is an isometric view of a container according to the first embodiment with one chamber open;

Figure 2 is an isometric view of a container according to the second embodiment with both chambers closed;

Figure 3 is a part isometric view of a portion of the upper face showing the latch and locking mechanism in the locked position;

Figure 4 is a part isometric view of a portion of the upper face showing the latch and locking mechanism with the locking mechanism in the unlocked position locked position; Figure 5 is an isometric view of the member which forms the latch according to the second embodiment; and

Figure 6 is an isometric view of the member which forms the lock member according to the second embodiment.

Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments

The first embodiment as shown in Figure 1 comprises a container 11 which has a generally cylindrical configuration and which is inherently buoyant. The buoyancy of the container is such that when it is floating in the water it will float with one end 13 uppermost. In addition the magnitude of the buoyancy is such that it will at least partially support a number of persons who are at least partially supported by the water. The one end 13 is provided with a set of handles 15 at opposed sides of the container.

The body of the container 11 is coloured such that is readily apparent when floating on the water. It is envisaged that such colours will include the "rescue colours" of red and/or yellow. In addition the container will be provided with appropriate reflective panel or panels. In addition if desired the container my have a capacity to fluoresce in the dark as a result of a previous exposure to sunlight in order that it is visible at night or be provided with an illumination means which can be activated when required.

The container 11 is formed with a set of four chambers 17 which extend inwardly from the one face 13. Each chamber is associated with a closure panel 19 which is pivotally supported at one side of the respective opening and which is movable into a closed position with the opening to sealingly close the chamber. A suitable latch 21 is provided with each closure panel to securely retain the closure panels in the closed positions. The closure panels are transparent to enable the contents of the chamber to be viewed without the need to open the chamber. The inherent buoyancy of the container is not reliant upon any contribution from the chambers or the contents of the chambers and is such that even if the chambers are filled with water the container will still remain afloat and can provide the required support for a number of persons who are at least partially supported by the water.

The closure panels and/or the upper face of the container can be provided with tactile indicators (e.g. raised or recessed elements) which are representative of the contents of the chambers in order that even in dark conditions a person is able to identify the contents of each chamber without the need to open the chambers.

In addition any major recesses the upper face are provided with drain holes or passages or the like (not shown) which enable water in the upper face to drain clear of the chambers.

At least one chamber is provided with a support member 23 which comprises a channel shaped member which is received in the chamber. The channel shaped member is supported from a one side wall of the chamber to be slidable on the one wall of the chamber such that it can be moved longitudinally between a retracted position at which it is fully received within the chamber and an extended position located outwardly from chamber. The support member is provided with an aperture 25 towards its outer end to assist in movement of said support member from chamber. The support member is capable of receiving a mounting portion (not shown) of an item which is to be retained in the chamber whereby the item can be fixedly retained in the chamber. The items which can be fixed to the support comprise safety flares, emergency locator beacons (EPIRBs), lights, water bottles, food ration containers and the like. To this end the support member is provided with a set of holes which enable the items to be fixed to the support member.

The purpose of the support member is to positively locate the items within the chamber and to prevent them from moving within the chamber and suffering damage. The length of the support member is such that when it is accommodated within the chamber and the closure panel 19 is in the closed position, the support member is unable to move longitudinally within the chamber.

In addition some or all of the items can be provided with a tether or the like which is attached to allocation within the respective chamber to prevent them from becoming lost once they have been removed from the chamber. Furthermore the exterior of the container is provided with fixing elements (not shown) to which items such as torches, beacons flares and the like can be fixed when they have been removed from the chambers.

In use the container is intended to be located on the deck or cabin roof or vertical sides of a vessel, the chambers are filled with all of the required survival items that would be required by a person falling overboard or in the event of the vessel sinking or another emergency situation. Such survival aids can comprise flares, emergency locator beacons, lights, water, food rations and the like. The support member enables those items to be fixedly retained within the chambers to prevent damage while they are being stored but will enable those items to be readily retrieved when required. In addition all of the safety equipment and/or survival aids can be stored in the container and as result, all of the equipment is located in the one location which can be readily accessible when required. It is intended that the container be loosely supported on the deck of a vessel or alternatively fixed to the deck of the vessel such that on the container be being subjected to excessive forces which may be experienced during capsize, the container will become disengaged from the fixing means. On a vessel sinking, capsizing or the like, the rescue container will become dislodged from the vessel or will probably fall overboard and rise to the surface to be accessible to any persons in the water. Because of its bright colouring it will then be readily apparent to any persons who have also fallen in the water and will provide buoyancy for such persons by engaging the handles. In addition because of the magnitude of the inherent buoyancy the container will float with a relatively large portion exposed above water level to increase its visibility to a person who is in the water. In addition the bright colouring will enable the container to be seen by rescuers. In the event that the persons in the water require any of the items accommodated within the chambers to facilitate their rescue or to sustain themselves, the chambers can be selectively opened and the desired items can be extracted from the chambers. In addition the container may be provided with a tether or lanyard to enable a person to secure themselves to the container when they are in the water and the chambers may accommodate additional tethers which can be used by others. The capacity of the container to accommodate the emergency beacons, lights and flares enables the person to attract attention if and when required.

In the event of a person falling overboard the container can be thrown overboard in the same manner as one would use a life ring or life buoy, however because of its buoyancy it will sit higher in the water than a life ring and thus be more readily visible and will enable the person in the water to access items such as an emergency locator beacon, lights and the like to enable the rescuers to more readily locate the person, particularly in rough seas.

When the vessel is not at sea the container is readily stored within the vessel or removed from the vessel.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown at Figures 2 to 6 and takes a very similar form to that of the first embodiment. In the case of the second embodiment the container has two chambers which are of differing volume. Each of the chambers is associated with a closure panel 19 which is retained in the closed position by a latch 21. Each closure panel is biased to the open position. In the case of the second embodiment the latch comprises a pawl member 31 which is supported at a position at the side of the opening to the respective chamber which is opposite the hinged support for the closure panel 19. The pawl is provided with a detent 33 which is engagable with the closure panel 19 to hold the closure panel in the closed position and the pawl is resiliently flexible to be able to be moved such that the detent will disengage from the closure panel.

The latch is associated with a locking mechanism which comprises an arm 35 which is receivable in a space 37 in the upper face of the container which is adjacent to the latch and at the opposite side to the closure panel. The arm 35 is pivotally supported for movement between a locked position at which it is fully received in the space 37 (as shown at Figure 3) and an unlocked position at which it extends upwardly from the upper face of the contained and is clear of the space 37 (as shown at Figure 4). When the arm 35 is in the locked position the pawl is unable to be moved to the disengaged position and when the arm 35 is in the unlocked position the pawl is able to be moved to the disengaged position. The pivotal connection provided for the arm 35 is such that when the arm is in the locked or unlocked position it is retained in that position and a predetermined amount of force is required to move the arm to the other position.

The latch 21 has a base 39 which is fixed to the base of the space 37 which is provided in the upper face of the container by a suitable fixing 41 and is formed on the face which is remote from the detent with a laterally extending spigot 43. The arm 35 is pivotally supported from the spigot 43. The portions of abutting faces of the latch and the arm which surround the spigot are formed with a pair of cooperating dimples 45 and recesses 47 (see figures 5 and 6) which serve to provide the means for retaining the arm in either of its locked or unlocked positions. In addition the abutting faces of the latch 21 and the arm 31 are provided at a position spaced from the spigot with a mating groove 47 and rib 49 which will be snugly inter-engaged when the arm is in the locked position relative to the latch to provide additional resistance to the movement of the arm 31 to the unlocked position. The arm is coloured such that it is readily distinguished when it is in the unlocked position and if desired the sides of the arm can bear wording (such as UNSAFE) or indicia providing a visual indication that it is in the unlocked position. Such

indicia or wording is hidden when the arm is in the locked position. The function of the latch and cooperating locking mechanism is to prevent the associated closure panel from inadvertently opening when the container is subjected to impact and/or inertial forces.

It should be appreciated that the latch and locking mechanism of the second embodiment can be applied to the first embodiment

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention the container has the configuration resembling a disc which is provided with a number of handles around the outer portion of the disc with the chambers being located centrally with respect to the discs. According to other embodiments of the invention the container can take any desired shape including that of cubic form or one having a polygonal cross-section

The present invention is not to be limited in scope by any of the specific embodiments described herein. These embodiments are intended for the purpose of exemplification only. Functionally equivalent products, elements and methods are clearly within the scope of the invention as described herein.

Claims

ClaimsThe Claims Defining the Invention are as Follows:

1. A survival aid comprising a container having an upper face, the container having inherent buoyant characteristics such that in use when the container is supported on the water it will float with its upper face uppermost and it is able to at least partially support at least one person who is also at least partially supported by the water, the container defining a storage chamber having an opening accessible from the upper face, the opening associated with a closure adapted to be able to sealingly close the opening, the exterior of the container being provided with handles or like gripping elements which are located proximate the upper face, wherein the inherent buoyancy of the container is not dependant upon any inherent buoyancy provided by the chamber and/or its contents.

2. A survival aid as claimed at claim 1 wherein the closure is associated with a latch which is arranged and configured to retain the closure in the closed position when in a locked position, said latch being arranged and configured to require manipulation to be movable to an unlocked position to enable the closure to be moved to an open position relative to the chamber.

3. A survival aid as claimed at claim 2 wherein the closure panel is provided with a biasing element which biases the closure to an open position

4. A survival aid as claimed at claim 2 or 3 wherein the latch is received in a recess provided in the upper face adjacent an edge of the closure, the latch being supported to lie adjacent the edge when in the locked position and being resiliently movable away from the edge to the locked position, the latch having a pawl element which is engaged with the closure when the latch is in the locked position and is disengaged from the closure when the latch is in the unlocked position.

5. A survival aid as claimed at claim 2 or 3 wherein said latch associated with a locking mechanism which will retain the latch in the locked position, said locking mechanism being capable of manipulation to cause it to be movable from an engaged position at which the latch is retained in the locked position and a disengaged position at which the latch can be movable by manipulation to the unlocked position.

6. A survival aid as claimed at claim 4 wherein said latch associated with a locking mechanism which will retain the latch in the locked position, said locking mechanism being capable of manipulation to cause it to be movable from an engaged position at which the latch is retained in the locked position and a disengaged position at which the latch can be movable by manipulation to the unlocked position.

7. A survival aid as claimed at claim 6 wherein the locking mechanism comprises an arm which is pivotally supported to be movable from the engaged position at which it is received in the recess to be in abutting relationship with the latch and located to the opposite side of the latch from the edge to the disengaged position at which it extends outwardly from the recess to lie clear of the latch.

8. A survival aid as claimed at claim 7 wherein the arm has visual characteristics such that it is visually apparent when in the disengaged position.

9. A survival aid as claimed at claim 5 or 6 or 7 or 9 wherein the locking mechanism has a retention element which will retain the locking mechanism in the engaged and disengaged position, the retention element requiring a predetermined amount of force to be applied to the locking means to enable the movement of the retention element from the engaged and disengaged positions.

10. A survival aid as claimed at claim 9 as dependent from claim 7 wherein the retaining element comprises at least one dimple like protrusion and at least one mating recess in the opposed faces of the arm and the latch whereby the dimple and recess are inter-engaged when the arm is in engaged position and the disengaged position.

11.A survival aid as claimed at claim 10 wherein the arm is pivotally supported from a spigot which extends laterally from the latch.

12. A survival aid as claimed at claim 10 wherein the at least one dimple-like and at least one mating recess are located proximate the spigot and lie in a common rotation path around the spigot.

13. A survival aid as claimed at claim 12 as dependent from claims 7 or claim 10 wherein the retention element further comprises a mating protrusion and second mating recess located at a position spaced from the spigot.

14. A survival aid as at any one of the preceding claims wherein the container is coloured to be contrastingly apparent form the ambient environment when supported upon the water.

15. A survival aid as at any one of the preceding claims wherein the chamber accommodates a support which is arranged and configured to in use to be able to receive and support rescue and/or survival aids whereby those items are supported by the support within the chamber to be substantially immovable, the mounting of the items to the support being releasable to enable the items to be removed from the chamber.

16. A survival aid as claimed at claim 15 wherein the support is movable within the chamber on the closure being opened to a position at which at least a portion of the support extends from the chamber to provide access to the items supported by the support.

17. A survival aid as claimed at claim 16 wherein the support is slidably supported within the chamber such that on the closure being opened the support can be moved outwardly from the chamber though the opening.

18. A survival aid as claimed at claim 16 wherein the support is pivotally supported within the chamber such that on the closure being opened the support can be moved partially outward of the chamber though the opening.

19. A survival aid as at any one of the preceding claims wherein the container comprises a number of chambers each associated with a closure.

20. A survival aid as at any one of the preceding claims wherein the container has a generally cylindrical configuration, said upper face comprising the one end face.

21. A survival aid as claimed at claim 20 wherein the one end is associated with said handles.

22.A survival aid as at any one of claims 1 to 19 wherein the container has a disc-like configuration.

23.A survival aid as at any one of the preceding claims wherein the container is provided with a fastening adapted to retain the container in position on a vessel, said fastening being arranged and configured to not be able to withstand strong inertial forces.

24.A survival aid substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.