Patent Application
20090036009
The present invention is directed to providing a personal floating life support system to protect and prevent persons from drowning.
Sea-craft and aircraft provided with life-vests, so that should craft sink, persons thereon may take advantage of life-vests and stay afloat until located by rescuers.
Although in wide use, and, in many instances required by law, such life-vests are limited in their effectiveness as life support means, since, although they effectively prevent persons from sinking, and also are fairly effective in keeping conscious persons' mouth and nose out of the water, and thereby preventing drowning, persons not fished out of the water fairly quickly tend to suffer from hypothermia, resulting in death in a matter of minutes to hours, depending on the water temperature, fitness of the person, and the like.
There is thus a need for a floating lifesaving system to prevent drowning, that overcomes the problem of hypothermia, and the present invention is directed to providing such a system.
In a first aspect, the present invention is directed to providing a personal anti-drowning system comprising an inflatable body suit and inflating means: said inflatable body suit being fabricated from a water resistant and air resistant fabric wherein at least part of said inflatable body suit comprises air tight inflatable pockets.
Preferably, the inflatable body suit separately encases distal body limbs, such that movement of arms and/or legs of person therein, cause corresponding movement of sleeves and/or leggings of the inflatable body suit.
Optionally and preferably, the person therein is able to walk relatively unhindered when the body suit is not inflated. Preferably, the person therein is also able to walk in the inflated body suit.
Typically, the inflatable body suit is closable by a zip.
In one embodiment the body suit includes a transparent canopy over face of person therein, typically fabricated from a clear polymeric sheet. Furthermore, the inflated body suit may include a snorkel, allowing person within said inflated body suit to breath air therethrough.
Due to gravity thereon, a person within the body suit typically naturally assumes a face upward floating position.
The inflating means may include a blow tube for manual inflation of said airtight inflatable pockets thereby. Preferably however, the inflating means includes a source of gas, such as a cylinder of compressed gas for example. Additionally or alternatively, the source of gas is a dense chemical (solid or liquid) that reacts with water to release prodigious quantities of gas.
The personal anti-drowning system preferably includes at least one of the refinements selected from the list of:
(a) a catch for towing thereby;
(b) a dye means for dying water therearound;
(c) a shark repellant;
(d) a light source;
(e) a GPS;
(f) signal flares.
(g) emergency rations, such as drinking water, vitamin supplements, food and mineral supplements and the like;
(h) a dynamo;
(i) propulsion means;
(j) steering means;
(k) communication means;
(l) navigating means, and
(m) a snorkel.
For a better understanding of the invention and to show how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, to the accompanying drawings.
With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only, and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention; the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice. In the accompanying drawings:
The present invention is directed to providing a personal anti-drowning system. Referring now to
The inflatable body suit 10 is fabricated from a water resistant and air resistant fabric. The suit panels are compartmentalized into air-tight inflatable pockets 18, 20, 22, 24, similar to the sections of an air mattress, such that a puncture or tear in the body suit, will only result in loss of pressure in a limited section, minimizing the likelihood of sinking.
It will be appreciated that since the body suit 10 conforms to the limbs, a person 12 will be able to shuffle along therein, along the deck of a boat, perhaps. Furthermore, prior to inflation of the body suit 10, a person 12 encased therein, will be able to walk relatively unhindered.
Typically, the body suit will be fastened by a zip fastener 26, providing an easily openable and closable join. Alternatively, other fastening means such as buttons, press-studs, toggles, or Velcro may be used. Optionally, the seams and fastening means are watertight, but this is not actually necessary, since by virtue of the air pockets, the body suit is kept afloat.
Although, the suit need not cover hands and feet, to prevent these body extremities from coming into contact with the seawater, and to minimize the likelihood of hypothermia in consequence, the body suit typically encloses these as well. Similarly, preferably a transparent canopy 28 is provided to shield the face of the person 12 therein. The transparent canopy 28 may be fabricated from a clear polymeric sheet material such as polyethylene, for example, but may also be tinted to provide protection from the sun, typically to the eyes.
Preferably a light source 30 is provided. This may be a flashing light or steady light, and may be white, red or any other color. The light may be provided by a battery power supply, or electrodes of differing metals, such as copper and zinc, may be provided, that are immersed in the water therearound, to provide an electrical current thereby. Such a light source greatly increases the likelihood of the person 12 being spotted by a searching boat, helicopter or airplane, and, facilitates rescue searches being carried out at night and in other conditions of poor visibility.
Typically to further aid visibility, the body suit will be fabricated, at least in part, from a fluorescent or a reflective material. Other means of increasing visibility are preferably provided, such as fluorescent or coloured dyes that may be intentionally released by person 12, or automatically released into water by being encapsulated in a slow dissolving casing, for example. Similarly, flares and/or other signaling means may be provided. To facilitate rescue, the body suit 10 typically includes a catch 32, such as a loop, enabling the body suit 10 to be engaged to a boat hook or a towrope, for example. In preferred embodiments, individual body suits may be attached together by such loops or similar attachment means, facilitating mutual support and ease of rescue.
As shown in
With reference to
Compressed gas may be released from the gas cylinder 52, by manually opening valve 54, by pressing on a release mechanism 58, for example. This might drive a pin 60 into the gas cylinder 52, overcoming the resistive force exerted by a spring 62. Preferably, an automatic release means 70 is provided for activating valve 54, for automatically releasing compressed gas and inflating air cushion of body suit when suit is immersed in water, so that even if person 12 is unconscious or paralyzed, the body suit 10 will inflate, preventing person 12 therein from drowning.
By way of example only, such an automatic release means 70 might include a power supply 72 such as an electrochemical cell, sensors 74 for determining presence of water and for automatically closing circuit if system is immersed in water, other electronic components 76 such as transistors, such that if sensors 74 detect presence of water, an electromagnet 78 will be activated, thereby activating valve 54. Typically and preferably, a circuit-breaking switch 80 will be provided to override the automatic release means 70.
It will be appreciated however, that the body suit 10 of the personal anti-drowning system might be inflated by gas originating elsewhere. For example, the air cushions might include or be connected to a reservoir containing a dense chemical (solid or liquid) that reacts with water to release prodigious quantities of gas, and be inflated thereby. Suitable gas releasing chemical means are known, and will not be described further herein.
Instead of the means described hereinabove, or in addition thereto, the airtight inflatable pockets of the body suit 12 of the personal anti-drowning system maybe manually inflated via a blow tube.
The body suit 10 described above need not be hermetically sealed, and should water be shipped thereinto, the person 12 therein will get a little wet, but, by virtue of the aircushions, the person 12 will be insulated and isolated form the sea itself, and will not loose too much body heat thereby.
The basic personal anti-drowning system is capable of modification and variation, and specific embodiments, may vary somewhat from that described above. Thus with reference to
Even an internal light 113 might be provided to enable the person 112 within to read, and a sub posterior void for accumulation of human excretia.
Indeed, the person 112 within might be provided with a magnet compass and/or other navigating tools, and the system 100 might include a propeller 106 linked by a transmission means 105 to a pedal(s) 104 or pedals within the system 100 for propulsion through the water, and a rudder 107 for steering purposes. Other refinements such as a hand-operated dynamo 115 might be provided for powering the various systems, and a telecommunication system 119 for communication with the outside world.
Thus persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and includes both combinations and subcombinations of the various features described hereinabove as well as variations and modifications thereof, which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description.
In the claims, the word “comprise”, and variations thereof such as “comprises”, “comprising” and the like indicate that the components listed are included, but not generally to the exclusion of other components.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60953470 | Aug 2007 | US |
