Patent Application
20220324279
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The disclosure relates to flotation devices and more particularly pertains to a new flotation device for floating a vehicle on flood waters to inhibit the vehicle from being damaged. The device includes a plurality of bladders, a pump for inflating the bladders and a plurality of anchors. The bladders are inflated to float the vehicle and the anchors are lowered to inhibit the vehicle from floating away.
The prior art relates to flotation devices including a variety of floatation devices that include inflatable bladders mounted to a vehicle for floating the vehicle in flood waters. In several instances the vehicle is anchored to a stationary object to inhibit the vehicle from floating away on the flood waters. In no instance does the prior art disclose a floatation device that includes inflatable bladders mounted to a vehicle and deployable anchors mounted to the vehicle.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a plurality of bladders that is each coupled to a bottom side of a vehicle. Each of the bladders is inflatable to float the vehicle when the vehicle is exposed to flood waters. A water senor is coupled to the vehicle to sense flood waters rising beneath the vehicle. A pump is coupled to the vehicle and the pump inflates each of the bladders when the pump is turned on, and the pump is turned on when the water sensor senses flood waters. A plurality of anchor actuators is each of the anchor actuators is coupled to the bottom side of the vehicle. A plurality of anchors is each lowered from the respective anchor actuator when the respective anchor actuator is actuated into a lowering condition thereby inhibiting the vehicle from being floated away by the flood waters.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The plurality of bladders 12 includes a pair of side bladders 20, a front bladder 22 and a back bladder 24. Each of the side bladders 20 is positioned adjacent to a respective one of a first lateral side 26 and a second lateral side 28 of the vehicle 16. The front bladder 22 is aligned with a front side 30 of the vehicle 16 and the back bladder 24 is aligned with a back side 32 of the vehicle 16. Each of the bladders 12 has an inflation port 34 integrated therein for inflating the bladders 12. A control circuit 36 is integrated into the vehicle 16 and the control circuit 36 is electrically coupled to a power source 38 comprising an electrical system of the vehicle 16. Additionally, the control circuit 36 receives an inflate input and a deflate input.
A water sensor 40 is coupled to the vehicle 16 and the water sensor 40 is strategically positioned on the vehicle 16 to sense flood waters 18 rising beneath the vehicle 16. The water sensor 40 may be positioned on the bottom side 14 of the vehicle 16. The water sensor 40 is electrically coupled to the control circuit 36 and the control circuit 36 receives the inflate input when the water sensor 40 senses flood waters 18. Conversely, the control circuit 36 receives the deflate input when the water sensor 40 ceases to sense the flood waters 18 subsequent to the water sensor 40 sensing the flood waters 18. The water sensor 40 may comprise an electronic water sensor that produces the inflate input when the water sensor 40 is submerged in water for a pre-determined duration of time.
A pump 42 is coupled to the vehicle 16, the pump 42 is in fluid communication with each of the bladders 12 and the pump 42 inflates each of the bladders 12 when the pump 42 is turned on. The pump 42 has an intake 44 and an exhaust 46, and the pump 42 urges air inwardly through the intake 44 and outwardly through the exhaust 46 when the pump 42 is actuated into an inflating condition. Conversely, the pump 42 facilitates air to move outwardly through the intake 44 when the pump 42 is actuated into a deflating condition. The pump 42 is electrically coupled to the control circuit 36, and the pump 42 may comprise an electric air pump or the like.
The pump 42 is actuated into the inflating condition when the control circuit 36 receives the inflate input. In this way the pump 42 facilitates the vehicle 16 to be floated on the flood waters 18. Additionally, the pump 42 is actuated into the inflating condition for a pre-determined duration of time when the control circuit 36 receives the inflate input such that the pump 42 inflates each of the bladders 12 to a sufficient volume to float the vehicle 16. The pump 42 is actuated into the deflating condition when the control circuit 36 receives the deflate input to deflate the bladders 12 when the flood waters 18 have subsided. An air manifold 48 is provided that has an inlet 50 and a plurality of outlets 52 that is each in fluid communication with the inlet 50. The inlet 50 is fluidly coupled to the exhaust 46 of the pump 42 and each of the outlets 52 is fluidly coupled to the inflation port 34 on a respective one of the bladders 12. In this way the air manifold 48 directs air between the pump 42 and each of the bladders 12 for inflating or deflating the bladders 12.
A plurality of anchor actuators 54 is provided and each of the anchor actuators 54 is coupled to the bottom side 14 of the vehicle 16. Each of the anchor actuators 54 is electrically coupled to the control circuit 36 and each of the anchor actuators 54 is actuated into a lowering condition when the control circuit 36 receives the inflate input. Conversely, each of the anchor actuators 54 is actuated into a lifting condition when the control circuit 36 receives the deflate input. Each of the anchor actuators 54 is aligned with a respective one of the first lateral side 26 and the second lateral side 28 of the vehicle 16. Each of the anchor actuators 54 may include an electric motor and a spool that is rotated by the electric motor or other type of electro-mechanical device.
A plurality of cables 56 is provided and each of the cables 56 is in mechanical communication with a respective one of the anchor actuators 54. Each of the cables 56 is lowered downwardly out of the respective anchor actuator 54 when the respective anchor actuator 54 is actuated into the lowering condition. Conversely, each of the cables 56 is drawn upwardly into the respective anchor actuator 54 when the respective anchor actuator 54 is actuated into the lifting condition. Each of the cables 56 may comprise a steel cable, a rope or other type of flexible cable that has a weight capacity of at least 20.0 pounds.
A plurality of anchors 58 is provided and each of the anchors 58 is disposed on a respective one of the anchor actuators 54. Each of the anchors 58 is lowered from the respective anchor actuator 54 when the respective anchor actuator 54 is actuated into the lowering condition. In this way each of the anchors 58 can engage a support surface 60 thereby inhibiting the vehicle 16 from being floated away by the flood waters 18. Each of the anchors 58 is lifted into the respective anchor actuator 54 when the respective anchor actuator 54 is actuated into the lifting condition. Each of the anchors 58 is coupled to a distal end 62 of a respective one of the cables 56, and each of the anchors 58 is comprised of a material that has sufficient density to facilitate each of the anchors 58 to have a weight of at least 10.0 pounds.
In use, the pump 42 is actuated into the inflating condition when the water sensor 40 senses the flood waters 18. Each of the bladders 12 is inflated and each of the anchors 58 is lowered to the support surface 60. In this way the bladders 12 facilitate the vehicle 16 to float on the flood waters 18 to inhibit the vehicle 16 from being damaged by the flood waters 18. Additionally, the anchors 58 inhibit the vehicle 16 from being floated away by the flood waters 18. In this way the vehicle 16 remains stationary until the flood waters 18 have subsided. Each of the bladders 12 is deflated and the anchors 58 are raised when the water sensor 40 no longer senses the flood waters 18. Thus, the vehicle 16 can be driven normally once the flood waters 18 have subsided.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
