WO2013093828A1

WO2013093828A1 - Method and device for personal protection from collapses due to earthquake

Info

Publication number: WO2013093828A1
Application number: PCT/IB2012/057519
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ferruccio VALERIO
Original assignee: Valerio Ferruccio
Priority date: 2011-12-20
Filing date: 2012-12-20
Publication date: 2013-06-27
Also published as: ITRM20120632A1; ITLI20110008A1

Abstract

Method and a pneumatic device (1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d) for personal protection from collapses in the event of an earthquake. Said device is of a small size in order to be easily incorporated inside the home and constitutes a point of shelter reachable in a very short time, as is required in the event of an earthquake. The device (1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d) comprises a number of air cells suited to being rapidly inflated around the persons to be protected.

Description

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PERSONAL PROTECTION FROM COLLAPSES DUE TO EARTHQUAKE

This invention concerns a method and a pneumatic device for personal protection from collapses in the event of an earthquake. The said device, which is of a small size in order to be easily incorporated inside the home, constitutes a point of shelter reachable in a very short time, as is required in the event of an earthquake .

Common experience shows that when searching for missing persons following an earthquake, people are sometimes found alive even after days as they luckily found themselves in an area remaining clear of rubble which allowed them to survive, although trapped and unable to get out unaided. On other occasions people have been found with trapped limbs or varying degrees of injuries, yet still alive.

There is a practically continuous statistical record of people trapped under the rubble with injuries running from simple grazes to completely crushed bodies .

The purpose of this invention is to provide a suitable shelter for people that greatly limits physical damage, considerably increasing the chances of survival, the said device also being fitted with means for self-medication, calling for help and food for survival for a few days .

The described purpose is achieved through a method and a device that respectively comply with claims 1 and 2. The method is characterised by the fact that it ensures the creation of a volume that remains practically free from rubble around the persons and/or objects to be protected, the said volume being limited by a pneumatic device, that is suited to being rapidly inflated, which completely surrounds the said persons and objects. The device is characterised by the fact that it includes a number of air cells that surround an area that accommodates the persons and/or objects to be protected and is able to counteract the loads presented by the collapsed rubble, lying between the rubble and the said persons and/or objects to be protected.

In practice at the first sign of an earthquake, the occupants take shelter in a part of the home identified for this purpose and equipped with a device according to the invention, activating the automatic inflation system, and in a few seconds find themselves inside a closed environment, a kind of cabin, with walls made of inflated air cells.

It is clear that a device designed in this way cannot always and in any case guarantee the safety of persons nor their survival, as large heavy structures such as beams or walls could lacerate the air cells, completely crushing the device and the persons sheltering therein, however in many cases the device could effectively stand between the rubble and the people and maintain a small but sufficient area of protection .

According to a preferred embodiment, the air cells are made in such a way as to be deflated separately. In the event of a person having part of the body trapped between two inflated elements, simply by puncturing the parts in contact with the body this vice can be loosened and the person released.

The device according to the invention finds its main application in buildings in historical centres which are therefore not built to earthquake protection standards, and it would be excessively expensive if not technically impossible to appropriately adapt such buildings .

The invention will now be described, according to some preferred embodiments, referring to the attached figures, in which:

• figure 1 shows a section of the protection device according to the invention;

• figures 2 to 6 show various forms of implementation of the protection device according to the invention.

Referring to fig. 1, (1) indicates a pneumatic personal protection device against collapses, according to the invention. The figure also shows a person sheltering inside the said protection device (1) which, in the illustrated example, has the form of a cabin. The pneumatic device (1) includes four walls (2) and a roof (3), the said walls (2) and said roof (3) being made from air cells in highly resistant rubberised fabric. The device (1) is then preferably positioned on a rigid base (4) . Finally, it advantageously includes a container (20) which can be used to store useful materials such as, for example, a mobile phone or a radio transmitter to call for help, material for self- medication, food and an electric torch.

To be of practical use, the protection device (1) must be installed in any room, adapting to the shape and size of the room itself. In the case illustrated in fig. 2, the device (1) is contained folded in a container (5) which can be installed below a ceiling. In this way the person seeking protection has only to stand under the container (5) , activate the inflation device, for example by pulling a cord (not shown) and wait a few seconds for the device to be inflated, creating a protected area around them. To increase the effectiveness of the protection, it is preferable that on the floor, around the lower edges of the walls (2), hooking means are installed to stabilise the edges. The said hooking means may advantageously be made from high-grip velcro strips (6), glued along the edges of the rigid base (4) which adhere to the corresponding velcro strips (6a) applied to the lower edge of the said walls (2) . In this case, as they inflate the air will press energetically against the velcro causing it to lock into place.

Fig.s 3 (a, b) show a protection device (la) which complies to a second embodiment. In this case the device is contained in a container-platform (4a) which can be arranged on the floor. As the person seeking shelter can only climb onto the platform (4a) and the protection device (la) grows upwards, it will be made from several air cells which, after inflating, will join together in order to form a closed structure. In the case shown in fig.s 3 (a, b) , from the container- platform (4a) the angular walls (2a) and (2b) will inflate and join along the corresponding side edges, while the roof (3a) , obtained as a single piece from one of the angular walls, will join together after inflation with the upper edges of the other angular wall. The union of the angular walls (2a, 2b) with each other and the roof (3a) can also in this case be done using high-strength velcro strips (7, 7a, 8, 8a) . The effectiveness of the connection is ensured by the fact that the contact surfaces are as large as possible; in this situation it is sufficient for the air cells, as they inflate, to come into contact along the edges, in order to effectively join the adjacent walls (2a, 2b) and the side edges of the roof (3a) and the upper edges of the walls (2a, 2b) .

According to the embodiment shown in fig.s 3 (a, b) , the two angular walls (2a) and (2b) are of a different extension. In practice the wall (2a) runs around almost the whole boundary of the cabin, while the roof (3a) is complete. With the described configuration, after inflation, the part consisting of the first angular wall (2a) and the roof (3a) , which is inflated first, will appear as shown in fig. 3a. Now the person enters the cabin, and then the second angular wall (2b) is inflated to close off the cabin.

In order to ensure a solid mutual fixing between the angular walls, the second angular wall (2b) can advantageously be inflated in a differentiated manner. The two external cells (2c, 2d) are kept deflated until the wall (2b) , growing in height, reaches the roof (3a) and is fixed to it by the velcro strips (8, 8a) which are pressed together by the pressure of the inflating gas. Subsequently, the external cells (2c, 2d) are inflated, and grow sideways, pressing together their corresponding velcro strips (7, 7a), the said pressure being particularly effective as the wall (2b) is already fixed in the upper part by effect of the velcro strips ( 8 , 8a) .

According to another embodiment of the invention

(not shown), the two angular walls may be the same.

Fig. 4 shows a variant (lb) of the protection device according to the invention. The said variant

(lb) is suitable for the protection of hospital beds, preventing patients from having to move to a place of installation of the device. In the form of implementation illustrated in fig. 4, the bed is placed on a base (9), from which the protection device (lb) grows as it is inflated. As they inflate, the side and upper edges of the air cells (10, 10a) are pressed against the bed head (11) to which they will be fixed by the foreseen fixing means, for example, velcro strips (not visible in the figure) .

Fig. 5 shows a variant (lc) of the protection device according to the invention, which has the form of a semi-sphere. In this case the protection device

(lc), as it inflates, grows from the base (12) and, rotating on its axis (13), touches the base (12) with the upper edge of the air cell, and remains fixed to it by means of the velcro strips (14) . Fig.s 5 (a, b) illustrate two positions assumed by the protection device (lc) during inflation.

Fig. 6 shows a variant (Id) of the protection device according to the invention, suitable for the protection of hospital beds, in alternative to variant

(lb) . The said variant (Id) operates identically to variant (lc), but differs from it only in shape. In fact also in this case the protection device (Id) grows from the base (15) and the upper edge of the air cell locks into position on the base (15) on which a velcro strip (16) is applied.

In order to increase reliability, the air cells are divided into sectors. In practice these are multiple air cells made in such a way as to ensure that as far as possible the structure maintains its shape, even if one or more of the said air cells are lacerated. This characteristic is important also due to the fact that, in the event of the person having any trapped limbs, in many cases it is sufficient to deflate the air cells in direct contact with the limbs in question in order to free them, while the other air cells prevent the collapsed rubble from falling completely .

As is clear from the preceding description, the use of the protection device according to the invention effectively counteracts the effects of the collapse of a building on its occupants, reducing and even cancelling out the risk of physical damage.

The invention has been described for illustrative purposes but not limited thereto, according to some preferred embodiments. Technical experts in the sector may find many other embodiments, all falling within the field of protection covered by the attached claims.

Claims

1) Method for protection from collapses due to earthquakes, characterised in that it ensures the creation of a volume that remains practically free from rubble around the persons and/or objects to be protected, the said volume being limited by a pneumatic device, that is suited to being rapidly inflated, which completely surrounds the said persons and objects.

2) Pneumatic device (a, la, lb, lc, Id) for protection against collapse due to earthquakes, characterised in that it includes a number of air cells that surround an area that accommodates the persons and/or objects to be protected, the said device (1, la) being able to counteract the loads presented by the collapsed rubble, lying between the rubble and the said persons and/or objects to be protected.

3) Pneumatic protection device (1, la, lb, lc, Id), according to claim 2, characterised in that it includes some walls (2, 2a, 2b) and a roof (3, 3a), the said walls (2, 2a, 2b) and said roof (3, 3a) consisting of air cells made from highly resistant rubberised fabric .

4) Pneumatic protection device (1), according to claims 2 and 3, characterised by the fact of being placed on a rigid base (4,), to which it is connected, being fitted with connection means, consisting of velcro strips (6, 6a), placed respectively along the edges of the said base (4) and the lower edge of the walls (2 ) .

5) Pneumatic protection device (1), according to at least one of the claims from 2 to 4, characterised by the fact of being contained folded inside a container (5) suitable for being installed below a ceiling .

6) Pneumatic protection device (la), according to claims 2 and 3, characterised by the fact of being contained inside a container-platform (4a) suited for being arranged on the floor, the said pneumatic device

(la) growing from the bottom upwards from the container-platform (4), and consisting of several walls

(2a, 2b) which, after inflation, are joined together, in order to form a closed structure.

7) Pneumatic protection device (la), according to claim 6, characterised by the fact of comprising two angular walls (2a) and (2b) arranged to be joined together, after inflation, along the corresponding side edges, while the roof (3a) , obtained as a single piece from one of the angular walls (2a) , will join together after inflation with the upper edges of the other angular wall (2b) .

8) Pneumatic protection device (la), according to claims 6 and 7, characterised by the fact that the connection between the angular walls (2a, 2b) and the roof (3a) is done using velcro strips (7, 7a, 8, 8a).

9) Pneumatic protection device (la), according to claims 6 to 8, characterised by the fact that the second angular wall (2b) , which is inflated after the first angular wall (2a) , is inflated in a differentiated manner, keeping the two external cells (2c, 2d) deflated until the second angular wall (2b) , growing in height, reaches the roof (3a) and is fixed to it by the velcro strips (8, 8a) which are pressed together by the pressure of the inflation gas, the said two external cells (2c, 2d) inflating subsequently and growing sideways in order to press the corresponding velcro strips (7, 7a) together.

10) Pneumatic protection device (lb), according to claims 2 and 3, characterised by the fact of being positioned inside a base (9), suited to supporting a bed, the said protection device growing by effect of the inflation from the said base (9) and joining the side and upper edges of the air cells (10, 10a) in contact with the head (11) of the said bed, to which they are fixed by effect of the velcro strips applied to the head (11).

11) Pneumatic protection device (lc), according to claims 2 and 3, characterised by the fact of being semi-spherical in shape, the said protection device (lc) growing by effect of the inflation from a base (12), rotating around an axis (13) and the upper edge of the air cells touching the said base (12), to which it is fixed by means of the velcro strips (14) .

12) Pneumatic protection device (Id), according to claims 2 and 3, characterised by the fact of having an elongated dome shape, the said protection device (Id) growing by effect of the inflation from a base (15), rotating around an axis (16) and the upper edge of the air cells touching the said base (15), to which it is fixed by means of the velcro strips (17) .

13) Pneumatic protection device (1, la, lb, lc, Id) , according to claims 1 to 9, characterised by the fact that the air cells that compose the walls (2, 2a, 2b) and roof (3, 3a) are divided into sectors, in such a way as to ensure that the structure maintains its shape as far as possible, even if one or more of the air cells should be lacerated.

14) Pneumatic protection device (1, la, lb, lc, Id), according to claims 2 to 10, characterised by the fact of having a container (20) in which useful materials can be stored, such as a mobile phone or radio transmitter to call for help, material for self- medication, food and an electric torch.