Patent Grant
8469015
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The field of the present invention generally relates to projectile launching systems, and more specifically, to rescue launcher systems that launch disposable quick-change, pre-packed payload cartridges from a reusable launcher for a variety of public safety applications.
In public safety, commercial/recreational marine, and animal net capture applications, currently available rescue launching devices are costly, complex, reusable systems that require significant training. Training and training costs are serious considerations for any such technology adoption. Due to their complex nature, a novice operator, or an operator with minimal training, may have difficulty in successfully deploying payloads using these existing products, especially in high stress environments that typically accompany rescues. The result is compromising rapid rescue and jeopardizing lives. The high system costs, payload packing/re-packing, and operational complexity limit wide scale deployment of existing technology, thereby limiting availability of the technology for rescues.
Using public safety as an example, according to 2008 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) data, there are 30,170 fire-rescue departments in the U.S. with a total of 1,498,850 firefighters. This number includes potential water/ice first responders. Approximately 72% of these firefighters are volunteers, and an estimated 53% of these firefighters are involved in technical rescue (e.g., water/ice and high angle) and lack formal training to do so. Water conducts heat from the body twenty five times faster than air. Therefore rapid rescue from water is crucial for survival, especially when ambient temperatures drop. Since a large portion of the U.S. is rural with various bodies of water, and most rural fire-rescue departments are unmanned and served by volunteers, the need for a first responder system to rapidly retrieve a water or ice rescue subject is substantial. Citing 2009 U.S. Lifesaving Association statistics, there were 79,138 rescues just by open water lifeguards. Worldwide, the need to respond to flood disasters and provide effective marine safety will increase as populations living near bodies of water and marine recreation multiply. Statistically the majority of water and ice rescues occur within 300 feet of shore. First responders with manually thrown tethered rescue devices have a typical range of approximately 60 feet, as this is limited by physical strength and accuracy skill. Therefore there is demand for accurate rescue launching systems capable of reaching 300 feet.
In a 2004 letter from the (U.S.) National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) to the (U.S.) International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), there was a request to form a committee to address problems each organization had with water rescue. NASAR cited 1999 U.S. Centers for Disease Control statistics, in which 3,529 Americans died due to drowning and 7,940 were hospitalized for near-drowning. Drowning is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. The letter cited that one-third of all drowning victims are would-be-rescuers and the National Fire Protection Association stated that a firefighter is four times more likely to lose their life in a water rescue situation than in fighting a fire.
One example of present technology is the costly (kits range from $1900 to $3300) ResQmax™ line rescue system. This system pulls a line or payload by opening a neck of a large and expensive compressed gas cylinder, thereby letting escaping gas jet tow the reusable line. All payloads in this system must be operator packed and repacked. This requires a high level of operator skill to prevent deployment tangling and delays rapid repeat launches when time is critical. The gas cylinders are heavy and potentially deadly if a rescue subject is struck by the gas cylinder. If the $350 gas cylinder lands on a hard surface, it may become dented, and therefore unserviceable. Accordingly, there is a need for improved rescue launcher systems that are less costly and can be widely deployed for use by minimally trained or novice first responders to initiate water, ice, animal net capture, and the like at safe distances and shortening response times for lifesaving critical rescues.
Disclosed herein are rescue launcher systems which overcome at least one of the deficiencies of the prior art. Disclosed are rescue launcher systems that are relatively low cost, require little operator knowledge due to its intuitive design, and launch a wide a variety of different payloads. Disclosed is a rescue launcher system comprising, in combination a reusable launcher and a one-time-use, pre-packed payload cartridge removably secured to the reusable launcher. The payload cartridge includes a plastic canister, a pressurization system located within the canister and selectively activated by reusable launcher, and a payload located within the canister and which is launched to a remote location upon actuation of the pressurization system.
Also disclosed is a rescue launcher system comprising, in combination, a reusable launcher having an actuation grip and an interlock and a payload cartridge removably secured to the reusable launcher. The payload cartridge includes a canister, a pressurization system located within the canister and selectively activated by reusable launcher, and a payload located within the canister and which is launched to a remote location upon actuation of the pressurization system. Actuation of the actuation grip actuates the pressurization system and the interlock is adapted to prevent actuation of the pressurization system unless the interlock and the actuation grip are simultaneously actuated.
Further disclosed is a rescue launcher system comprising, in combination, a reusable launcher and a payload cartridge removably secured to the reusable launcher. The payload cartridge houses a buoyancy device which is launched to a remote location upon actuation of the reusable launcher. The buoyancy device includes a sealed tube and foam within the sealed tube and the sealed tube and foam are mechanically restrained in a compressed state and adapted to inflate using internal vacuum when no longer mechanically restrained after launch of the buoyancy device.
From the foregoing disclosure and the following more detailed description of various preferred embodiments it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention provides a significant advance in the technology and art of rescue launcher systems. Particularly significant in this regard is the potential the invention affords for providing a reliable, low cost, and easy to use rescue system. Additional features and advantages of various preferred embodiments will be better understood in view of the detailed description provided below.
These and further features of the present invention will be apparent with reference to the following description and drawings, wherein:
It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various preferred features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the rescue launcher systems as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes of the various components, will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment. Certain features of the illustrated embodiments have been enlarged or distorted relative to others to facilitate visualization and clear understanding. In particular, thin features may be thickened, for example, for clarity or illustration. All references to direction and position, unless otherwise indicated, refer to the orientation of the rescue launcher systems illustrated in the drawings. In general, up or upward refers to an upward direction within the plane of the paper in
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that is, to those who have knowledge or experience in this area of technology, that many uses and design variations are possible for the improved rescue launcher systems disclosed herein. The following detailed discussion of various alternative and preferred embodiments will illustrate the general principles of the invention. Other embodiments suitable for other applications will be apparent to those skilled in the art given the benefit of this disclosure.
Referring now to the drawings,
The illustrated reusable launcher 12 includes a housing or grip assembly 16, a “hand squeezed” actuation grip or trigger 18, a hammer 20, a pair of actuation pins 22, a release member 24, a safety interlock 26, a latch assembly 28, and a rear sight 30. The illustrated housing assembly 16 has a split injection molded design that confines operating components for initiating release of pre-pressurized gas from a pressurization system 32 contained in the payload cartridge 14. As best shown in
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For a successful hammer 20 release to initiate a payload launch, the safety interlock 26 must be maintained in a depressed state while the actuation grip 18 is fully retracted. The actuation grip detent sear 38 is depressed by being driven downward and out of the hammer detent sear receiver hole by the release member 24 that runs in the slot 44 of the hammer 20 that bifurcates the detent sear receiver hole. This instantaneously disengages the hammer 20 from the actuation grip 18. Only then can the hammer 20 generate enough forward travel to drive the actuation pins 22 into the payload cartridge 14 to initiate a payload launch. Upon release of pressure on the safety interlock push button 56 and the actuation grip 18, the safety interlock compression spring 58 biases the hammer 20 rearward and the spring-biased actuation grip 18 moves forward to re-engage the detent sear 38 with the hammer 20 and resets the reusable launcher 12 into a “fire” ready condition.
Through experimentation it has been discovered that novice operators attempt to launch a relatively short-length launcher by placing their non-dominant hand on the forward section of the launcher or the payload cartridge. Unfortunately, if the hand is placed in front of the payload cartridge, upon launch the hand could impede the payload from being deployed correctly or even possibly cause injury due to the rapid nature of the payload ejecting from the payload cartridge. The present design negates the potential for this to occur by providing the front grip 35 and ensuring that the user's non-dominant hand remains on the front grip 35 until the launch is complete by requiring the safety interlock push button 56, which located at the front grip 35, to remain depressed. This also improves launcher recoil control by the operator upon moment of launch, thereby improving accuracy of the launched payload to the intended target.
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The illustrated canister 76 has a relatively thin exterior wall and forwardly extending launch tube 82 therein which is open at each end and is sized and shaped for receiving the payload towing projectile 78 therein. The launch tube 82 can be utilized as molded or can have a thin metal tube pressed therein if it is determined that launch pressure may exceed operational strength of the polymer. The illustrated launch tube 82 is supported in the outer wall by ribbing to minimize polymer material usage and to further provide operator safety by isolating the “pressurized on launch” tube from the outer wall in case of a catastrophic failure of the launch tube 82 by utilizing the ribbing as a potential crimping zone.
The illustrated canister 76 also has a pair of laterally spaced-apart pressurization tubes 84 located below and contiguous with the launch tube 82. The illustrated pressurization tubes 84 extend in the forward direction and are open at each end and are sized and shaped for receiving the pressurization and actuation system 32 as describe in more detail hereinbelow. A gas port or passage 86 is drilled between the launch tube 82 and each of the pressurization tubes 84 at the rear end of the tubes 82, 84 to permit passage of pressurized gas from the pressurization tubes 84 to the launch tube 82 as described in more detail hereinafter. The illustrated pressurization tubes 84 are each supported within the outer wall by ribbing to minimize polymer material usage.
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Spring-biased gas cylinder puncture or pierce pins 100 are housed axially parallel to the pressurization tubes 84 in the gas cylinder caps 90. The illustrated gas cylinder puncture pins 100 have circumferential elastomeric seals 102 that seal the outside diameter of the puncture pins 100 to the inside diameter of the gas cylinder caps 90 to maintain gas tightness upon firing of the rescue launcher system 10. The puncture pins 100 are spring biased rearward toward a rear canister cap 104 and maintained in position by the rear canister cap 104. The illustrated rear canister cap 104 has actuation port holes 112 concentric to the gas cylinder caps 90 that are smaller diameter than the puncture pins 100, thereby the puncture pins 100 are maintained in a battery position once the payload cartridge 14 is assembled. The forward end of the puncture pins 100 are adapted to pierce the gas cylinders 88 when the puncture pins 100 are engaged and driven forward by the actuation pins 22 of the reusable launcher 12. While the illustrated embodiment includes two gas cylinders 88, it is noted that one, two, or more of the gas cylinders 88 can be utilized. Power demands of the payload 80 to be launched would determine the number of gas cylinders 88 to be installed. It is also noted that the pressurization and actuation system 32 can alternatively be of any other suitable type such as for example, gunpowder actuated gas generation canister can replace the pre-pressurized gas cylinders 88 while firing pins replace the puncture pins 100.
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It is envisioned that the polymers utilized in the disposable payload cartridge 14 can be recyclable or manufactured from biodegradable materials to minimize environmental impact. A large adhesive label pictographically describing the operational instructions in reference to the specific payload 80 packed in the payload cartridge 14 can be applied to the exterior of the canister 76. Alternatively these operational directions can be screen or pad printed directly on the canister 76.
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Through trials & experimentation, several key operational & technical issues have been discovered with CO2 inflated buoyancy systems. First, the bobbin style CO2 self inflators have a limited shelf life without servicing due to the moisture sensitive soluble bobbin. Research has uncovered instances where there was premature discharge and filling of flotation devices utilizing these inflators when stored in high humidity locations; e.g. shipboard, near bodies of water; due to bobbin deterioration. This bobbin servicing requirement negates this type of inflation system from long storage necessary for a one-time use emergency rescue device. Second, it is impossible to get an auto-inflator utilizing a soluble bobbin firing system to actuate automatically in an ice rescue situation due to the necessity of a soluble bobbin auto inflator to be fully immersed in water to actuate. Therefore this rescue scenario would require manual inflation actuation. It would be very difficult to get a panicking rescue subject clinging to an ice hole to manually actuate a flotation device. Third, the ideal launched payload is one with minimal weight. For equivalent distances, lower projectile weight requires less launch power, minimizes subsequent recoil from launch, and lessens injury potential from an accidental strike of the rescue subject. An average auto-inflating CO2 mechanism alone weighs approximately 8 oz. without the flotation device or launch canister. A CO2 inflation system requires considerably more power to launch a buoyantly equivalent device than a mechanically activated flotation system the same distance based on initial weight. Fourth, the physical size of the packed auto inflator, CO2 gas cylinder, and relatively inflexible flotation device fabric able to withstand rapid inflation pressure creates packing difficulty for a payload to be compact enough for a manageable launched payload. Fifth, the complexity and resultant cost of the CO2 auto inflator system and associated pressure resistant flotation device creates a relatively high cost for an envisioned emergency one-time use launched flotation device.
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The buoyancy device 124 can comprise the plastic tube 150 with a width of, for example, about 8″ and two strips of open cell soft urethane foam 152 having a width and height each of, for example, about 2.25″ for a total rectangular cross section of 2.25″×4.5″, or a cross-sectional area of about 10.12 square inches. The two strips of foam 152 can have a length of, for example, about 42″ long. These exemplary strips of foam 152 provide a volume of about 425 cubic inches. Considering the foam 152 is waterproofed by being inserted in the plastic tube 150, in the “actuated” or expanded “at rest” form, the foam 152 would displace approximately 1.84 gallons of water, or an approximate positive buoyancy of 15.3 lbs in 70° F. fresh water, which is sufficient for an emergency buoyancy device 124 for rapid extraction from water. It is noted that the foam 152 can alternatively have any other suitable size.
A length of small diameter flexible plastic tubing 154 pierces and is sealed to the plastic tube 150. The plastic tubing 154 can have an inside diameter of, for example, about 0.19″. The plastic tubing 154 can be sealed to the plastic tube 150 in any suitable manner. The other end of the plastic tubing 154 is affixed to an air-intake float assembly 156 so that the air-intake float assembly 156 is in air-flow communication with the interior of the sealed plastic tube 150.
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The illustrated core of the buoyancy device 124 can be manufactured by inserting the open cell foam 152 into the plastic tube 150 and sealing both ends of the plastic tube 150. A vacuum system could be utilized to pull the air out of the foam containing plastic tube 150 through the attached plastic tubing 154, including all air out of the open cell soft foam 152. The plastic tubing 154 would then be temporarily clamped shut prior to being packed in the shell assembly 126 while being mechanically restrained in its compressed form. An alternative method would be to use mechanical compression to squeeze the air out of the foam 152 and the foam containing plastic tube 150 through the attached plastic tubing 154 prior to installation of the check valve(s) and/or the float assembly 156. The removal of air will reduce the thickness of the illustrated plastic tube 150 including the foam 152 “at rest” from about 2.25″ thickness to about 0.25″ which is a thickness reduction of nearly 90%. Once vacuumed or otherwise air evacuated, the buoyancy device 124 is inserted into the shell assembly 126 where it is mechanically restrained in its compressed or deflated form with the tow line 146 and the tubing 154 extending through the opening 144 so that the float assembly 156 is located outside the shell assembly 126. The buoyancy device can be folded or rolled to create a compact size to tightly fit in the shell assembly 126. Once the buoyancy device 124 is packed and restrained in the shell assembly 126, the check valve(s) and/or float assembly 156 are attached to the plastic tubing 154.
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In deployment, once the buoyancy device 124 is ejected from the shell assembly 126 so that it is no longer mechanically restrained in its compressed form, the foam 152 immediately starts expanding as air is drawn in through the hydrophobic filters and check valve of the float assembly 156 and into the plastic tube 150 containing the compressed deflated foam 152. Upon water impact, the buoyancy device 124 is minimally buoyant and the air-intake float assembly 156 trailing on the attached plastic tubing 154 maintains the inlets 164 out of the water and the hydrophobic filters restrict water from entering the foam containing plastic tube 150 but allow air to enter. Utilizing low permanent set foam, the foam and subsequently the foam containing plastic tube should return to at least 75% of original expanded size within a few seconds even with long term deflated or compressed storage. If the foam containing plastic tube 150 is grasped and squeezed, air pulled into it by the action of the expanding foam 152 is trapped by the one-way check valves and provides positive buoyancy for the rescue subject.
In addition to use of this aforementioned foam buoyancy device 124, the disclosed mechanically inflated foam 152 can be utilized with “wearable” or a hand thrown low cost emergency buoyancy devices. This mechanically inflated foam 152 can be inexpensively built into jackets or other clothing to provide emergency flotation by employing removable shaped foam blocks inserted in the non-permeable plastic tubing or film bags. A “ripcord” or other type of actuation can simultaneously release the plastic tubing 154 tethering the air-intake float assembly 156 and remove an inexpensive tubing pinch clamp that maintains the plastic tubing 154 in a “compressed and closed to atmosphere” state. Suitable tubing clamps are known in the art such as medical tubing clamps. An example of such a clamp that may be adapted for this use is part number M2921900 manufactured by B. Braun Medical Inc. of Bethlehem, Pa. Upon actuation, the mechanical inflation would occur as previously described and offer emergency buoyancy aid to the wearer until he could be extracted from the situation. Forms of internal pockets could house the buoyancy devices with movable flaps, so that the buoyancy devices can be easily removed for garment cleaning and then reinstalled. As noted above, the float assembly 156 can also be utilized as a back-up oral inflation port in cases where total inflation does not occur. The rescue subject would be instructed to place the top end of the flotation assembly into their mouth and to blow to use lung pressure to inflate the tube 150 and the foam 152 therein rather than or in addition to the foam 152 creating a vacuum to draw air in. It is noted that alternatively a separate oral inflation tube can be provided if desired.
During operation of the illustrated rescue launcher system 10 for a water rescue, the user grasps the rear grip 34 with one hand and grasps the front grip 35 with the other hand near the safety interlock push button 56. The user then lines up the subject in the sights 30, 74, depresses the safety interlock push button 56 with one hand and squeezes the actuation grip 18 with the other hand. As the actuation grip 18 moves rearwardly, the hammer 20 moves rearwardly therewith until the detent sear 38 engages the release member 24 to downwardly deflect the detent sear 38 and release the hammer 20 from the actuation grip 18. It is noted that if the safety interlock push button 56 is released at any time prior to the hammer 20 being released from the actuation grip 18, the safety interlock 26 will engage the hammer 20 to prevent further rearward movement of the actuation grip 18 and the hammer 20 attached thereto. With the hammer 20 released from the actuation grip 18, the compression springs 48 forwardly propel the hammer 20 so that the actuation pins 22 move forwardly out of the housing assembly 16 and engage the puncture pins 100 in the attached payload cartridge 14. The puncture pins 100 move forward and pierce the gas cylinders 88 to rapidly release the pre-pressurized gas from the gas cylinders 88. Gas rapidly travels through the gas ports 86 to the launch tube 82 behind the towing projectile 78 and forwardly propels the towing projectile 78 out of the launch tube 82. As the towing projectile 78 exits the launch tube 82, it engages the front canister lid 114 of the canister 76 which is removed from the canister 76 by the impact. When the line 116 connecting the towing projectile 78 to the payload 80 becomes taught, the towing projectile 78 pulls the payload 80 from the canister 76 and pulls it through the air. The traveling shell assembly 126 pulls the float assembly 156 and the tow line 146 there behind (best shown in
The illustrated towing projectile 202 is tubular in shape and comprises an outer shell molded of a translucent polymer (with a specific gravity under 1 so it can remain buoyant) via injection molding. The illustrated towing projectile 202 has an inner cavity in which a weighting bar of metal is installed. The weight bar amount can be varied to obtain optimal flight and distance characteristics while towing various tow line weights. The towing projectile should weigh just enough to tow the line the desired distance and maintain a low threshold of downrange kinetic energy in case a rescue subject was accidently struck by the towing projectile 202. A high visibility colorant can be added to the outer shell during molding, and/or a pocket can be provided in the front of the towing projectile 202 that can contain a miniature chemical light stick, of the variety used by fishermen as lure attraction, that fractures its internal actuation vial on impact with the front canister lid 114 upon launch, thus transmitting its light throughout the translucent outer projectile shell. This light can aid a rescue subject and rescuer to locate the towing projectile 202 and the tow line 146 in low light conditions. Alternatively, the weight bar secured to the towing projectile 202 can be used as a piston to pop forward to fracture the light stick.
The illustrated towing projective 202 has a longitudinally extending clearance side slot 204 that runs parallel with the length of the molded outer shell to allow the tow line 146 to extend from the rear of the towing projectile 202 to a forward end of the launch tube 82 where it extends down to the lower portion of the canister 76 so that the tow line 146 does not provide an unsuitable amount of frictional interference in the launch tube 82. The tow line 146 is terminated on the towing projectile 202 as described above for the first embodiment of the payload cartridge 14. Upon firing, the tow line 146 centers itself at the back of the towing projectile 202 to allow stable accurate flight characteristics while towing the tow line 146 to its destination.
A cup seal 205 is inserted into the launch tube 82 proceeding insertion of the towing projectile 202 to provide a gas tight projectile launch. The cup seal 205 is ejected as it propels the towing projectile 202 and exits the launch tube 82. Upon reaching its destination, the towing projectile 202 can be gripped by a remote rescue subject in an emergency situation for towing of the rescue subject to a safe location by pulling the tow line 146 secured to the towing projectile 202. The tow line 146 can be high strength small diameter cord constructed of a material such as Spectra®, Dyneema® or the like. For non-critical use of the tow line 146, a low cost material such as Dacron®, nylon, or the like can be substituted.
In conjunction with the single line towing projectile payload configuration, a pre-wound spool 206 of the tow line 146 can be utilized. The illustrated spool 206 is held in place by a pair of spool retention inserts 208 that is adapted to hold a variety of spool diameters and is located in the lower portion of the canister 76. The inserts 208 can be molded from a flexible plastic material such as, for example polyethylene or the like. The illustrated inserts 208 are generally “K” shaped and face each other from opposite sides of the canister 76 to hold the spool 206 therebetween but allow the tow line 146 to pay out of the center of the spool 206. The inserts 208 could spring in demand to the diameter of the line spool 206 by being restrained in a canister cartridge housing insert 210. The spool 206 is retained via tabs 212 located on the front of the inserts 208 which do not impede rapidly withdrawing the tow line 146 from the center of the spool 206 by the towing projectile 202. It is noted that the inserts 208 can alternatively have any other suitable configuration. The retainer inserts 208 and the housing insert 210 are each preferably injection molded of a suitable plastic material.
The illustrated rescue snare includes a two segment towing projectile 302 to pull two interconnected high strength retrieval or tow lines 146, at an angle to each other from two spools 304 of the tow line 146. The illustrated rescue snare is deployed out of the above-described pre-packed one-time-use disposable payload cartridge with a “compartment creating” insert 306 that allows packing the two tow lines 146 in an appropriate manner to limit tangling. The two spools 304 of the two lines 146 are stored in separate compartments of the insert 306 and retained in the compartments with a front retention cap 308. The illustrated insert 306 also forms packing compartments for a cross connected line and shroud lines as described in more detail hereinafter. Alternatively, the spools 304 can be held similar to the spool 206 for the single tow line embodiment described above or in any other suitable manner. The insert 306 and the retention cap 308 are each preferably injection molded of a suitable plastic material.
Attached at the towing projectile line end, is a cross connected line or narrow piece of high strength large mesh netting of an appropriate length such as, for example, 15 ft. long. Two relatively short such as, for example, about 12″ long shroud lines are connected to the rescue line or net at the appropriate cross length endpoints. Along the top surface of this line or netting, a flotation device or devices or a floating line can be utilized such as, for example, Spectra®, polypropylene, float treated nylon or the like that keeps the line or net from sinking. The rescuer end of the tow lines 146 could be fixed to a non-movable object by a “pull out” line attached to the lines to minimize possibility of loss upon launch.
The two segment towing projectile 302 can be molded from a polymer material with a specific gravity index less than 1.0 so it will float in water. As best shown in
A hollow deflector tube 312 is mounted within the launch tube 82 in a cantilevered manner with a deflector button 314 located the forward distal end of the deflector tube 312. A suitable length of high strength cord 316 would attach the deflector button 314 to the hollow deflector tube 312. The cord 316 is stored within the hollow deflector tube 312. A concentric cup seal 318 is inserted into the space created between the deflector tube 312 and the launch tube 82 that seals on the surface of the launch tube 82 and the concentrically placed deflector tube 312. The split, two section towing projectile 302 is pushed onto the deflector tube 312 with its split positioned vertical in reference to the ground, followed by the deflector button 314 being secured to the end of the deflector tube 312. The illustrated rescue snare system utilizes the above-describe pressurization system 32 for launch of the towing projectile 302. As the towing projectile 302 exits the deflector tube 312, the deflector button 314 deflects and separates the two segments of the towing projectile 302. The deflector button 314 can be adapted for any desired angle of separation for the two segments of the towing projectile 302.
In use, the rescuer centers the rescue subject up in the sights 30, 74 of the reusable launcher 12 and fires the two segments of the towing projectile 302 beyond the rescue subject. The segments of the towing projectile 302 separate and deploy the cross connected line or netting to its maximum length and drop the netting or cross connected line into the water or on the ice beyond the rescue subject. Even if the tow lines 146 drift to one side of the rescue subject due to wind or an inaccurate shot, as long as the cross line is beyond the rescue subject, the rescuer can “flip” one of the previously deployed towlines 146 like a jump rope to position the line loop over the rescue subject. The rescuer can then simultaneously tow the two tow lines 146 back towards the shore and snare the rescue subject in the cross line or netting to allow the rescue subject to be towed safely to shore. If it is desired to utilize the line loop as a messenger line, one end of the line loop at the operator end can be attached to a heavier line and relayed around a rescue subject or object by pulling on the opposite end of the line loop.
It is noted that each of the features and variations of the above disclosed embodiments can be used in any combination which each of the other embodiments.
From the foregoing disclosure it is apparent that the rescue launcher system of the present invention utilizes injection molding as a primary method of manufacture for a majority of the components so that the disclosed rescue launcher systems lend themselves as low-cost alternatives to many existing rescue launcher systems on the market. Thus, the disclosed rescue launcher systems can be widely adopted for many locations and applications. Due to low cost and ease of use by novice operators, it is believed that the disclosed rescue launcher systems can replicate the “automatic external defibrillator deployment model” for heart attack victims by providing rescue launcher systems in high risk public water areas in alarmed “break-the-glass” enclosures or the like.
From the foregoing disclosure and detailed description of certain preferred embodiments, it is also apparent that various modifications, additions and other alternative embodiments are possible without departing from the true scope and spirit of the present invention. The embodiments discussed were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the present invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the present invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the benefit to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.
This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/313,362 filed on Mar. 12, 2010, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
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| Entry |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20110220087 A1 | Sep 2011 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61313362 | Mar 2010 | US |
