The present invention generally relates to the field of inflatable boats. More specifically, the invention relates to a tube for a rigid inflatable boat, the tube having an inflatable access door.
A rigid-inflatable boat is a light-weight, high performance and high capacity boat that uses a solid, shaped hull and flexible inflatable tubes at its gunwale. The inflatable tubes allow the vessel to maintain buoyancy even if a large quantity of water flows aboard.
Because of its inherent stability and seaworthiness, the use of rigid inflatable boats is widely spread among divers and rescuers alike, who share a common need: to be able to easily and conveniently get in and out of the boat. For divers, this need concerns mostly themselves. However, for rescuers, this need concerns both themselves and also an endangered person who needs to be rescued from the waters.
Many solutions have been proposed to meet such a need. U.S. Pat. No. 8,832,864 describes a rigid-inflatable boat where the inflatable tube comprises a removable portion, which acts as a door. Although this solution provides a convenient opening on the side of the boat, removal and manipulation of the door is rather cumbersome. Moreover, should a rescue operation take place in rough waters, the removed portion could be lost at sea.
There is therefore a clear need for a tube having an improved access door for a rigid inflatable boat and for a boat using such an improvement.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tube for a rigid inflatable boat that overcomes or mitigates one or more disadvantages of known tubes for rigid inflatable boats, or at least provides a useful alternative.
The invention provides the advantages of providing easy and quick access to the rigid inflatable boat without cumbersome manipulations.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an inflatable door for a rigid inflatable boat having a rigid hull and an inflatable tube on at least a portion of a perimeter of the hull. The tube is equipped with a tube attachment strip to attach the tube to the hull. The door comprises an inflatable chamber, an air inlet connected to the chamber for inflating and deflating it and a door attachment strip attached to the chamber. The door attachment strip is adapted to being attached to the hull. The chamber is operative to cycle between an open position where it is deflated, to a closed position where it is inflated. Optionally, the door attachment strip may be a portion of the tube attachment strip.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an inflatable tube attachable to at least a portion of a perimeter of a rigid hull of a rigid inflatable boat. The inflatable tube comprises a first chamber, an inflatable door having an air inlet for inflating or deflating it, a second chamber and an attachment strip. The first chamber, the door and the second chamber are sequentially connected to the attachment strip so that the door is placed between the first chamber and the second chamber. The door is operative to cycle between an open position where the door is deflated to provide a passage between the first chamber and the second chamber and a closed position where the door is inflated.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a rigid inflatable boat. The rigid inflatable boat comprises a rigid hull and an inflatable tube. The inflatable tube comprises a first chamber, an inflatable door having a air inlet for inflating or deflating it, a second chamber and an attachment strip. The attachment strip is attached to at least a portion of a perimeter of the hull. The first chamber, the door and the second chamber are sequentially connected to the attachment strip so that the door is placed between the first chamber and the second chamber. The door is operative to cycle between an open position where it is deflated to provide a passage between the first chamber and the second chamber and a closed position where the door is inflated.
These and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings wherein:
The present invention relates to an access door for use on a rigid inflatable boat having a rigid hull and an inflatable tube on at least a portion of the hull's perimeter. The door may be used either to rescue an endangered person in water, or to allow divers to easily dive in water. The door is a chamber of the inflatable tube that may be inflated or deflated to open or close access.
Reference is now concurrently made to
The door 20 may be considered like another air chamber of the tube 14 equipped with its own air inlet 22, which may be a valve, for selectively inflating or deflating the door 20. Indeed, when the door 20 is deflated, as shown in
The first chamber 16 and the second chamber 18 of the tube 14 may either be inflatable, be filled with foam or be inflatable while using a foam core inside, as is often the case with military boats. If of the inflatable type, the chambers may either be fluidly independent or be in fluid communication through a small hose for example. This small hose may be equipped with a valve, such as a check valve for example. The tube 14 may be made of PVC, Hypalon® or any other suitable material.
The first and the second chambers 16, 18 may each be equipped with hoop flanges 30 partially extending over the door 20. The hoop flanges 30 prevent the door 20 from moving radially when the door 20 is inflated. The hoop flanges 30 may either be added to the perimeter of each of the first and second chambers 16, 18, as shown in
The present invention has been described with regard to preferred embodiments. The description as much as the drawings were intended to help the understanding of the invention, rather than to limit its scope. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the scope of the invention as described herein, and such modifications are intended to be covered by the present description. The invention is defined by the claims that follow.