WO2016193787A1

WO2016193787A1 - Emergency device for tracking air or naval crashes, aimed at recovering a flight data recorder and/or survivors

Info

Publication number: WO2016193787A1
Application number: PCT/IB2015/054193
Authority: WO
Inventors: Reinhard Karl Heinrich FISCHER
Original assignee: Fischer Reinhard Karl Heinrich
Priority date: 2015-06-03
Filing date: 2015-06-03
Publication date: 2016-12-08

Abstract

Described is an emergency device for locating air or sea disasters with a view to recovering the flight data recorder (black box) and/or any survivors, comprising a kit, contained inside a container (10) which opens by a controlled explosive charge, which comprises the following components: a floating case (12), equipped with impact and fire protection devices, containing the flight data recorder or other control and survival means; a high visibility aerostatic balloon (13), which can be inflated by a mixture of gas lighter than air; a floating anchor (15); cables (16, 17) for joining together the case (12) containing the flight data recorder (11), the aerostatic balloon (13) and the floating anchor (15); means for visual signalling (14) and radio transmission (19); the components being mutually connected for retaining the flight data recorder (11) and/or other control and survival means together with the relative floating case (12), keeping them anchored and signalling the position.

Description

EMERGENCY DEVICE FOR TRACKING AIR OR NAVAL CRASHES, AIMED AT RECOVERING A FLIGHT DATA RECORDER AND/OR SURVIVORS * * * * *

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a device for signalling, with the possibility of rapid localisation, the place where air or sea disasters have occurred such as the crashing of aircraft both on land or at sea, or the wrecking or sinking of ships. The device according to the invention can also be used on land vehicles.

The device according to this invention has been conceived and designed for dealing with the problem which is still at least partially unresolved regarding the localisation of vehicles, mainly aircraft or ships, following their loss in the case of a disaster due to the crashing on land or at sea in the case of aircraft or shipwrecks in the case of sea vessels, with their disappearance from the traditional sighting means and the consequent difficulty in tracing them and recovering any survivors or victims.

Basically, the device according to this invention comprises a container, which is ejected following activation of a small explosive charge at the moment of impact, containing a series of components, which can be connected to each other, which are suitable both for signalling the accident which has occurred on land or at sea, the components comprising both floating and anchoring means and high visibility means for long distance sightings with an improvement of the radio signalling since the signals are emitted at a greater height than the water level.

This invention can advantageously be used both in the aerial sector and in the maritime sector and, if necessary, also in the terrestrial sector, and it has been found to be particularly useful in general in all those cases in which it is necessary to urgently locate the site of an accident.

BACKGROUND ART

It is known that in aeronautical and maritime history there have been countless accidents due for example due to adverse weather conditions, or to collision with unexpected and unplanned obstacles, as well as to mechanical faults or engine failures, which lead to shipwrecks in the maritime case, or the crashing of aircraft at sea or on land in the case of air accidents .

In many cases, the maritime accident has resulted in the sinking of the ship whilst in the case of an air accident a mechanical fault, or other cause, may result in the crashing of the aircraft which in the majority of cases may be irreparable, with the total destruction of the aircraft. Both in the case relating to the maritime sector and in the one concerning the aeronautical sector, the shipwrecking of vessels or the crashing of aircraft may cause their disappearance from the traditional detection means. This can occur in certain circumstances of particular seriousness as in the case of the sinking of ships at sea, or in the event of poor visibility due to adverse weather conditions or due to an insufficient range of signals emitted by radio devices sea level, and similarly in the aeronautical sector in the case of the sinking of aircraft which crash in the sea, or the crashing of aircraft in deserts or inaccessible terrains if the aircraft is flying over land.

In all the cases in which ships or aircraft are lost, for example due to the above-mentioned disastrous circumstances, the urgent problem arises of organising the first immediate rescue activities in an attempt to recover any survivors or, in the worst cases, to recover bodies, and this problem is linked with the need to locate as quickly as possible the site of the disaster, in order to rapidly organise the rescue activities.

The use is known in the aeronautical sector, and more rarely in the naval sector, of recording devices known by the term "black box", which commonly refers to the electronic data recording devices installed in an aircraft or in a ship with the aim of facilitating the investigations after an accident.

These apparatuses are generally designed to withstand the conditions which may occur in a serious accident, preserving the recordings. In the case of aircraft data recorders, the devices need to withstand impacts of 3400 g and temperatures of more than 1000°C, as specified in EUROCAE ED-112 standard.

There are usually two types of flight data recorders on aircraft which are useful for the investigations after an accident: the flight data recorder (FDR), which records the data coming from various sensors and the cockpit voice recorder {CVR) , which records the sounds perceived by microphones located in the pilot' s cabin.

The problem found both in the case of an air accident in which an aircraft has crashed either on land or at sea, as well as in the case of the sinking of a ship, concerns the localisation of the disaster site, which may be very difficult and also costly since the black box released at the moment of impact may be at a great depth in the sea or in an area of land which is difficult to identify or reach, such as deserts, mountains or jungles.

The finding of the black box can therefore be problematic, also requiring a very long time and therefore also being very costly, which in many cases may even make the rescue operations impossible especially in the inaccessible places mentioned above.

Moreover, the finding of the black box, which is normally equipped for its identification with an underwater locator beacon, which, by means of internal battery, emits ultrasound signals for a duration of many days and also works under water at a depth of a few thousand metres, could even be of no use for finding the aircraft or the ship since its position might not correspond with the site of the accident, since the black box could have moved a considerable distance from the disaster site.

In the case of shipwrecks, the traditional emergency instruments are normally used which comprise radio signal emitters which have been found to be inadequate due to the insufficient signalling of the radio-signals sent from sea level during the searches at sea, and making the immediate recognition during the search operations for rescue purposes very difficult.

Similarly, these traditional emergency instruments might consist of devices designed for emitting optical signals which float on the surface of the sea, which, however, are not very visible, especially if there are poor maritime weather conditions.

More generally, the traditional emergency devices known in the prior art and used for signalling the site of the accident and any recovery of the black box comprise radio emission and optical signalling means which are completely inadequate due both to the difficulties in the rapid identification and the problems relating to the recovery of the black box contained therein, especially in adverse weather conditions or in the case of inaccessible terrains.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The aim of this invention is to provide an emergency device which allows the signalling of air or sea disasters such as the crashing of aircraft both on land and at sea, or the wrecking or sinking of ships, that is equipped with a plurality of components which creates a condition which is able eliminate or at least reduce the above-mentioned drawbacks.

The invention aims in particular to provide a signalling device which also comprises the black box for aircraft or, when used for ships, survival means, such as for example a tank of drinking water and which is equipped on the one hand with a component for anchoring in water or on the ground and on the other hand a high visibility aerostatic balloon, creating suitable conditions for a fast interception even during the very first investigations aimed at locating the site of the accident.

Another aim of the emergency signalling and localisation device according to the invention is to comprise means which, once combined together, are also extremely identifiable even at a great distance, with greater efficiency in the radio transmission, facilitating on the one hand the fast identification of the site of the accident and on the other hand the recovery of the black box and/or survivors.

This is obtained by means of an emergency device for signalling air or sea disasters, the features of which are described in the main claim.

The dependent claims of the solution according to this invention describe advantageous embodiments of the invention. The signalling and localising emergency device according to the invention basically consists of a container which can be installed on board an aircraft or a ship, preferably in a location which can easily be projected to the outside, that is, ejectable in the case of an emergency, the container comprising inside it the suitably protected flight data recorder (black box) and the signalling and identification means ejectable with it, which consist of an inflatable aerostatic balloon, a localisation device with a flashing light, a floating anchor and suitable cables which connect these components together with each other in a predetermined succession. In the case of an emergency due to an accident involving aircraft or ships on which the device according to the invention is installed, and, if necessary, also in the worst cases of crashing into the ground and sinking, an automatic ejection system is activated which projects the container outside and at the time of the ejection an explosive charge causes the opening of the container with immediate escape of the components which are placed in a vertical alignment connected by the cables starting from the bottom upwards with the floating anchor, the black box for aircraft, whilst for ships the black box is replaced with survival means, in particular a drinking water tank and a supply of food, with the relative protective case, and the high visibility aerostatic balloon, which keeps all the components together suspended upwards, making a visual reference which can be immediately and easily detected.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the invention will become clear on reading the description given below of one embodiment, provided as a non-limiting example, with the help of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a schematic view of the safety box according to the invention and of its internal components before and after activating an explosive charge which causes the escape;

Figure 2 shows a schematic view of the possible arrangement of all the instruments in use;

- Figures 3, 4 and 5 are schematic views highlighting the floating anchor in three arrangements, namely, closed, partly open and open, respectively; Figures 6 and 7 show schematic views of aerostatic balloon, in a plan and perspective respectively .

DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the accompanying drawings, and initially in particular to Figure 1, the numeral 10 indicates generally a container of the components which make up the emergency device according to the invention, the components being able to form a kit comprising components designed to be sighted even from a great distance and in any conditions of visibility.

The container, which is positioned on board an aircraft, or a ship, or any other vehicle even terrestrial, preferably in a position which is easily projected to the outside, that is, which can be ejected in the case of an emergency, comprises the components positioned inside it in a closed position, which comprise a flight data recorder or black box 11, that is to say, respectively, survival means such as a drinking water tank and a food supply in the case of ships, suitably protected by a case 12, and with signalling and identification means which can be ejected with it, which consist of an inflatable aerostatic balloon 13, a localisation device with flashing lights 14, which can be combined with a radio transmitter 19, the kit also comprising a floating anchor 15 and suitable cables 16 and 17 which connect these components together with each other in a predetermined sequence. The black box 11, that is, the tank of water possibly equipped with sleeves and straws, is contained inside the case 12 which is made of impact and fire resistant material.

Moreover, the black box 11, together with its floating case 12, is connected at the top with the aerostatic balloon 13 and at the bottom with the floating anchor 15 by means of cables 16 and 17 made of a material which is non-flammable and resistant to strong traction forces .

The inflatable aerostatic balloon 13 is connected to a gas cartridge 18, typically helium gas, which inflates it in a few milliseconds following ejection, disconnection from the relative contacts and opening of the container 10 from the vehicle in which it is installed . The aerostatic balloon 13 with the radio-transmitter

19 and visual signalling means such as a flashing light 14 are connected to the black box 12 by a cable 17 which is approximately 50 metres long to best overcome the terrestrial curvature thereby extending the range of radio transmission and favouring the visibility, positioning itself at a certain height relative to the case 12. The shape of the balloon 13 advantageously has sharp-cornered edges, to allow the best reflection of the radar signals for it localisation. The gas cartridge 18, which contains a mixture of air with helium, or other gases lighter than air, is directly integrated in the balloon and is designed to inflate immediately. The cartridge self adjusts the gas pressure sufficiently to stabilise the balloon and keep it inflated. As mentioned above, the kit also comprises a radio transmitter 19, mounted at a certain distance beneath the balloon 13, that is to say, at approximately 2 metres, and its disconnection from the vehicle occurs simultaneously with disconnection from the black box. The transmitter is activated at the moment of separation from the vehicle, that is, at the moment it is expelled from the vehicle at the time of the accident.

The radio transmitter signals the position of the emergency device (which corresponds to the position of the balloon) , as well as the last position before being disconnected from the black box.

The floating anchor 15, shown in Figures 3 to 5, is shaped in such a way as to prevent a strong thrust from moving it away from the site of the accident. Advantageously, it is substantially in the shape of an umbrella, with the end 20 of the handle 21, that is, the end opposite the cap 22, comprising means for connection to the cable 16 which connects it to the black box 11 and to its case 12.

It follows that, in situ, the umbrella adopts an overturned position illustrated in Figures 2 and 5, due the traction of the cable 16 on the handle 21, and this slows down the movement of the device preventing it from moving away from the accident site, since when the anchor lowers into the water it establishes itself at a distance from the floating protection of the black box 11, or from the survival means, resisting the movement, since the concavity of the umbrella of the anchor faces towards the direction of traction. The connections between the black box 11 contained in the case 12, the aerostatic balloon 13 and the anchor 15 are sufficiently stable to guarantee their seal even in the case of very adverse weather conditions, for example in the case of storms, excluding any possibility of mutual detachment of the components. Also in the case of the aircraft crashing on land, the anchor 15 enables the position of impact on the ground to be stabilised, slowing down the possibility of movement. The device described above allows a simpler and faster finding of the black box, which could even be recovered during the flying over of aircraft suitably equipped with "scissor pick up" devices.

In terms of construction, the emergency device 10 has dimensions proportional to the dimensions of the components contained and the overall apparatus. The outer container is advantageously made with fibres of polyethylene or lightweight metals resistant to heat to cold, and to the deformations due to the speed of the aircraft, and its shape in the case of aircraft is adapted to the aircraft.

The black box 11 contained in the protective case advantageously comprises two sockets, one positioned on the upper side and the other on the lower side whilst, when planned, the water tank advantageously comprises two vertical sleeves with a straw, which allow the coupling, respectively, with the cable 17 of the balloon 13 and with the cable 16 of the floating anchor 15, making the mutual coupling of the three components possible. Moreover the protective case 12 is made of floating material resistant to combustible substances and to fire, and at the same time slightly elastic, so as to be able to reduce the effect of impact if falling on the ground.

The CVR and FDR components of the black box are connected by wiring, but they are also connected to the radio-transmitter 19, so that the breakage of the container 10, performed by an explosive charge activated at the moment of the ejection from the vehicle, causes the recording in the black box of the last position.

The aerostatic balloon 13, which is advantageously made of non-flammable material, is tapered downwards and has dimensions suitable for supporting the entire emergency device. The advantageously sharp-cornered shape of the undulated edges improves the radar detection.

The aerostatic balloon is connected to the upper part of black box 11 by a fire-resistant and high- strength cable 17, the length of which is calculated to allow both a more effective radio transmission and its optical visibility and radar recognition. The height of the balloon above sea level is, approximately and purely by way of an example, about 50m.

After the container 10 opens, due to activation of the explosive charge at the moment it is ejected from the vehicle, the aerostatic balloon 13 is inflated automatically and in just a few milliseconds with the mixture of gas/air and helium. The mixture of gas/air with helium is necessary to prevent the balloon from lifting the box above the water level, due to the excessive lifting force of only helium gas.

Use is also made of a compressor directly integrated on the balloon 13 so that it can be kept at a constant pressure and guarantee in this way the height and the inflation, so as to allow an easy visual and radar detection.

The radio-transmitter 19 which advantageously comprises an integrated flashing light 14 for night-time optical detection is fixed along the cable 17 a few metres below the balloon 13, and comprises a unit for storing the data and a GPS device, in such a way that the signals are transmitted perfectly and the localisation is facilitated. The radio transmitting device 19 transmits both the position of impact and the GPS position.

The recording of the transmitter storage means is activated as soon as the vehicle also communicates with the FDR unit, and, consequently, the recording function only stores the last position of the vehicle transmitted, overwriting the previous one.

After the container 10 is opened, the black box data is associated with the storage section of the radio- transmitter 19, and the data of the last position of the balloon is sent.

The activation of the transmitter also simultaneously switches on the GPS, so the emergency radio signal transmitted also includes the last position, so as to be able to rapidly locate the position of the balloon and with it that of the entire apparatus .

The floating anchor 15 contributes, as mentioned above, to delaying a moving away from the place of the accident and is connected using the cable 16 to the lower part of the black box 11. After the container 10 opens the anchor falls downwards and if it reaches water it drops down further for approximately 6 metres depending on the length of the cable, then opening automatically due to the traction of the cable 16 on the handle 21, causing the opening of the cap 22.

In the case of an emergency due to an accident involving aircraft or ships on which the device according to the invention is installed, and, if necessary, also in the worst cases of crashing on land and sinking, an automatic ejection system is activated which projects the container outside and at the time of the ejection an explosive charge causes the opening of the cont.ainer with immediate escape of the internal components which are connected together, which are placed in a vertical alignment connected by the cables starting from the bottom upwards with the floating anchor, the black box with the relative protective case, and the high visibility aerostatic balloon, which keeps all the components together suspended upwards, making a visual reference which can be immediately and easily detected and also providing an improved radio transmission.

The invention as described above refers to a preferred embodiment. It is nevertheless clear that the invention is susceptible to numerous variations falling within the scope of the disclosure, in the context of technical equivalents .

Claims

An emergency device for locating air or sea disasters with a view to recovering the flight data recorder (black box) and/or any survivors characterised in that it consists a kit, contained inside a container (10) which opens by a controlled explosive charge, which comprises the following components :

a floating case (12), equipped with impact and fire protection devices, containing the flight data recorder or other control and survival means;

- a high visibility aerostatic balloon (13), which can be inflated by a mixture of gas lighter than air;

a floating anchor (15) below the water line;

- cables (16, 17) for joining together the case (12) containing the flight data recorder (11), the aerostatic balloon (13) and the floating anchor (15) ;

means for visual signalling (14) and radio transmission (19);

the components being mutually connected for retaining the flight data recorder (11) and/or other control and survival means together with the relative floating case (12), keeping them anchored and signalling the position.

The emergency device according to claim 1, characterised in that the high visibility aerostatic balloon (13) is made with sharp-cornered edges, to allow the best reflection of the radar signals for its localisation.

3. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the aerostatic balloon (13) is connected to a gas cartridge (18) for its instantaneous inflation in the case of emergency, allowing its suspension in air whilst remaining connected to the flight data recorder (11), or survival means, by a cable (17) .

4. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the floating anchor (15) is connected to the flight data recorder (11), or the survival means, and to the relative case (12), by a cable (16) .

5. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the floating anchor (15) is substantially of an umbrella shape consisting of a handle (21) and a cap (22), where the end (20) of the handle (21), that is, the end opposite the cap (22), comprises means for connection to the cable (16) in turn connected to the flight data recorder (11), and its case (12).

6. The device according to claim 5, characterised in that, in use, the umbrella adopts an overturned position due to the traction of the cable (16) on the handle (21) , slowing down the moving away of the device from the place of the accident.

7. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the container of the kit is subject to failure by- the automatic activation of an explosive charge at the moment of the ejection from the vehicle to free the components of the kit already connected to each other.

8. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the kit comprises a localisation device with a high visibility flashing light (14) connected to a radio transmitter (19) .

9. The device according to claim 8, characterised in that the radio transmitter (19) is mounted on the cable (17), which is activated at the moment of separation from the vehicle, that is, at the moment it is expelled from the vehicle at the time of the accident allowing a longer range of transmission.

10. The emergency device according to claim 8 or 9, characterised in that the radio transmitter (19) signals the position of the emergency device, which corresponds to the position of the balloon, as well as the last position before being disconnected.

11. The device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the survival means comprise a water tank and/or a food supply.