Patent Application
20190248449
The present disclosure relates to sea anchors, and more specifically to a self-deploying sea anchor for a life raft.
In the event of an emergency water landing, aircraft typically have one or more life rafts that can be deployed to hold evacuated passengers. These life rafts, as well as boats, ships, yachts, sailing vessels, or other watercraft, often utilize a sea anchor or a drogue to slow the drift of the watercraft and/or to otherwise orient and stabilize the watercraft in a controlled manner. However, most conventional sea anchors are manually deployed and may be susceptible to collapse.
According to various embodiments, the present disclosure provides a sea anchor that includes a textile tube and a resiliently flexible support. The textile tube may include a first end and a second end. The first end may have a rim defining a mouth and the second end may be closed. In various embodiments, the resiliently flexible support is coupled to the first end of the textile tube. The resiliently flexible support, in response to the sea anchor being deployed, may be configured to expand the mouth and retain the mouth open.
In various embodiments, the textile tube has a conical shape, with the mouth of the first end being a base of the conical shape and the second end being a point of the conical shape. The resiliently flexible support is a ring coupled to the rim of the first end of the textile tube, according to various embodiments. The ring may be sewn into a pocket that extends around the mouth adjacent the rim of the textile tube. In various embodiments, the resiliently flexible support includes a plurality of rings. For example, the ring mentioned above may be a first ring of the plurality of rings, wherein a second ring of the plurality of rings may be coupled to the textile tube at a location between the base and the point of the conical shape. Accordingly, the second ring may have a smaller diameter than the first ring. In various embodiments, the plurality of rings further includes a third ring and a fourth ring. In various embodiments, the resiliently flexible support may include a conic helix wire coupled to the textile tube. The conic helix wire extends in a tapered spiral from the ring towards the point of the conical shape of the textile tube, according to various embodiments.
Also disclosed herein, according to various embodiments, is a life raft that includes an inflatable structure configured to support a passenger and a sea anchor. The sea anchor may be coupled to the inflatable structure. The sea anchor may be automatically deployed in response to inflation of the inflatable structure. The life raft may further include a releasable fastener or a breakable fastener coupling the sea anchor to the inflatable structure, wherein the releasable fastener or breakable fastener is configured to release the sea anchor in response to expansion of the inflatable structure caused by the inflation.
In various embodiments, the sea anchor is coupled in a collapsed shape to the inflatable structure, and a user may release the sea anchor, thereby allowing it to self-deploy, or the act of inflating the life raft may automatically release the sea anchor. That is, the sea anchor may be configured to automatically deploy from the collapsed shape to the expanded shape in response to inflation of the inflatable structure.
Also disclosed herein, according to various embodiments, is a method of using a life raft. The method may include initializing inflation of the life raft and deploying the life raft in water. In response to inflation of the life raft, the sea anchor coupled to the life raft may self-deploy into the water. In various embodiments, the sea anchor is coupled to the life raft in a collapsed shape prior to the inflation of the life raft, and the sea anchor transitions from the collapsed shape to an expanded shape in response to the inflation of the life raft. In various embodiments, the transition from the collapsed shape to the expanded shape propels the sea anchor a distance away from the life raft.
The forgoing features and elements may be combined in various combinations without exclusivity, unless expressly indicated herein otherwise. These features and elements as well as the operation of the disclosed embodiments will become more apparent in light of the following description and accompanying drawings.
The subject matter of the present disclosure is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. A more complete understanding of the present disclosure, however, may best be obtained by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements.
The detailed description of exemplary embodiments herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show exemplary embodiments by way of illustration. While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosures, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical changes and adaptations in design and construction may be made in accordance with this disclosure and the teachings herein. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation. Throughout the present disclosure, like reference numbers denote like elements. Accordingly, elements with like element numbering may be shown in the figures but may not be necessarily be repeated herein for the sake of clarity.
In the event of an emergency water landing, aircraft typically have one or more life rafts that can be deployed to hold evacuated passengers. In various embodiments, and with reference to
The mounting location of the sea anchor 120 is not limited to the location depicted in
In various embodiments, and with continued reference to
In various embodiments, the base of the inflatable structure 110 includes one or more inflatable border tubes 114A, 114B. First and second inflatable border tubes 114A, 114B may provide buoyancy to the life raft 100 and may be mounted one above the other. The first and second inflatable border tubes 114A, 114B may provide a degree of buoyancy redundancy in that each inflatable border tube may be independently capable of supporting the weight of the life raft 100 when filled to capacity with passengers. The first inflatable border tube 114A may circumscribe the first side 111 of the base of the inflatable structure 110 and the second inflatable border tube 114B may circumscribe the second side 112 of the base of the inflatable structure 110. The life raft 100 may include one or more ladders, handles, etc., that facilitate passengers embarking.
In various embodiments, and with reference to
In various embodiments, the textile tube 126 has a conical shape. For example, the mouth 125 defined by the rim 123 at the first end 121 of the textile tube 126 may be a base of the conical shape and the second end 122 may be a point of the conical shape. That is, the textile tube 126 tapers inward from the first end 121 to the second end 122, according to various embodiments. The textile tube 126 may be made of a fabric material, a plastic material, or a composite material, among others. For example, the textile tube 126 may be made from nylon or a nylon material coated with a thermoplastic material. In various embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the textile tube 126 and the mouth 125 may be circular, rectangular, polygonal, etc.
In various embodiments, and with continued reference to
In various embodiments, and with reference to
In various embodiments, and with reference to
As mentioned above, the resiliently flexible support 128 may be compressed upon coupling the resiliently flexible support 128 to the textile tube 126, and thus resiliently flexible support 128 may be biased in a generally outward direction and may be prone to rapidly expanding from the collapsed shape shown in
In various embodiments, and with reference to
In various embodiments, and with reference to
In various embodiments, and with reference to
Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described herein with regard to specific embodiments. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in a practical system. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of the disclosure.
The scope of the disclosure is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” It is to be understood that unless specifically stated otherwise, references to “a,” “an,” and/or “the” may include one or more than one and that reference to an item in the singular may also include the item in the plural. All ranges and ratio limits disclosed herein may be combined.
Moreover, where a phrase similar to “at least one of A, B, and C” is used in the claims, it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may be present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, C alone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of the elements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Different cross-hatching is used throughout the figures to denote different parts but not necessarily to denote the same or different materials.
The steps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are not necessarily limited to the order presented. Furthermore, any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, and any reference to more than one component or step may include a singular embodiment or step. Elements and steps in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been rendered according to any particular sequence. For example, steps that may be performed concurrently or in different order are illustrated in the figures to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure.
Any reference to attached, fixed, connected or the like may include permanent, removable, temporary, partial, full and/or any other possible attachment option. Additionally, any reference to without contact (or similar phrases) may also include reduced contact or minimal contact. Surface shading lines may be used throughout the figures to denote different parts or areas but not necessarily to denote the same or different materials. In some cases, reference coordinates may be specific to each figure.
Systems, methods and apparatus are provided herein. In the detailed description herein, references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “various embodiments”, etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. After reading the description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement the disclosure in alternative embodiments.
Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” As used herein, the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
