Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE OF THE INVENTION:
Method and aerial escape apparatus for escaping danger
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an emergency escape apparatus for use in
extricating
oneself from a danger, such as an avalanche or a tsunami.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are a number of inflatable personal floatation devices, which are
intended to
provide a buoyant force to keep a person afloat in water. U.S. Patent
4,887,987 (Kato 1989)
is an example. The same principles have been applied in U.S. Patents 4,365,628
(Hodel
1982), 4,635,754 (Aschauer et al 1987) and 6,270,386 (Visocekas 2001) to
provide a buoyant
force to keep a person closer to the surface of an avalanche.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method
for
escaping danger. A first step involves securing to a person at least one
balloon along with a
portable source of lighter than air gas capable of rapidly inflating the at
least one balloon. The
balloon is carried in a deflated condition. When inflated, the balloon has the
capability of
lifting the person into the air above a potential source of danger. Second
step involves
inflating the balloon, when confronted with danger. The balloon lifts the
person into the air
and keeps the person hovering in the air for a time interval sufficient for
the danger below to
pass.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided an
aerial escape
apparatus for escaping danger, which includes a harness adapted to be worn by
a person. At
least one balloon is tethered to the harness. The balloon is normally in a
deflated condition.
A source of lighter than air gas is coupled to the balloon and adapted to
rapidly inflate the
balloon upon command. An activator is provided to selectively trigger the
release of lighter
than air gas from the source, to inflate the balloon when the person feels
threatened by danger.
The balloon, when inflated by lighter than air gas, has the capability of
lifting the person into
the air above the danger.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the
following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the
drawings are
for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit
the scope of the
invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a person equipped with an aerial escape
apparatus
constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view of the person equipped with the aerial escape
apparatus
illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the person equipped with the aerial escape
apparatus
illustrated in FIG. 1, engaged in the water sport of surfing.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the person equipped with the aerial escape
apparatus
illustrated in FIG. 1, engaged in the snow sport of snow boarding.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the person equipped with the aerial escape
apparatus
who was engaged in the water sport of surfing as illustrated in FIG. 3, having
activated the
aerial escape apparatus to escape a tsunami.
FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of an inflated balloon to be used with the
aerial
escape apparatus.
FIG. 7 is a detailed front elevation view, in section, of the balloon shown in
FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The preferred embodiment, an aerial escape apparatus generally identified by
reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIG.1 through 7.
Structure and Relationship of Parts:
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown aerial escape apparatus 10 including a
harness 12 adapted to be worn by a person 14. Referring to FIG. 2, a balloon
15 is tethered to
harness 12, and is carried normally in a deflated condition. It will be
understood that more
than one balloon 15 may be included. A source 16 of lighter than air gas, such
as helium, is
coupled to balloon 15 and adapted to rapidly inflate balloon 15 upon command.
Referring to
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FIG. 1, there is also an activator 18 to selectively trigger the release of
lighter than air gas
from source 16 to inflate balloon 15 when the person feels threatened by
danger, such that,
when inflated by lighter than air gas, balloon 15 has the capability of
lifting person 14 into the
air above the danger, as depicted in FIG. 5. Activator 18 contains a power
source and wires
(not shown) connecting it to source 16, such that when activator 18 is
activated, referring to
FIG. 2, a current is sent to a solenoid valve 20 to open it, releasing the
lighter than air gas
from source 16 into balloon 15 through tube 22. As shown in FIG. 2, source 16
is located
outside a pouch 24 designed to contain balloon 15 when deflated. It may also
be contained
within pouch 24 as well, as shown in FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 5, balloon 15
also includes
steering handles 26 so a person can steer themselves while in the air.
Referring now to FIG. 6, balloon 15 preferably comprises various chambers
denoted
28A, 28B and 28C for convenience. Central chamber 28A has the largest
capacity, chambers
28C have the smallest, and 28B has a capacity between the two. To provide
enough lift to lift
300 lb with helium as the lighter than air gas, chamber 28A may have a 64
cubic ft capacity
(4'x4'x4'), chambers 28B may have a 48 cubic ft capacity each (4'x4'x3'), and
chambers
28C may have a 18 cubic ft capacity each (3'x3'x2'). Handles 26 are attached
to balloon 15
using a buckle 29 to reinforce the attachment. Referring now to FIG. 7, it can
be seen that an
air tube 32, such as a tube that has a 2" diameter, is located along the
peripheral edge of
balloon 15 to form a frame. Air tubes 32 help balloon 15 to inflate more
efficiently, and also
provide extra protection against abrasion and electrical shock from power
lines, with the
overall result of preventing premature helium escape. Also, in addition to
being leak-proof
and water proof, balloon 15 is preferably fabricated from a double walled, non-
conducting,
abrasion resistant material to improve its strength.
Operation:
A method for escaping danger includes the steps of securing to a person 14
balloon 15
by harness 12 along with a portable source 16 of lighter than air gas capable
of rapidly
inflating balloon 15. Source 16 may be carried within pouch 24 as shown in
FIG. 3 or
without as shown in FIG. 2. Balloon 15 is carried in a deflated condition and
may also be
contained in pouch 24. When inflated, balloon 15 is capable of lifting person
14 into the air
above a potential source of danger. When confronted with danger, balloon 15 is
inflated by
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activating activator 18 which in turn opens solenoid valve 20, releasing the
lighter than air gas
to inflate balloon 15 as shown in FIG. 5, by inflating air tubes 32 to define
the shape of
balloon 15. Once inflated, balloon 15 can then lift person 14 into the air and
keep person 15
hovering in the air for a time interval sufficient for the danger below to
pass. It is preferred
that the device be able to maintain person 14 about 15 to 20 feet above ground
for at least 1
hour. They can return to ground by releasing the lighter than air gas once
they feel the danger
has passed. It is felt that a suitable rating for apparatus 10 would be one
capable of elevating
300 pounds, although varying sizes may be designed.
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 one and only one of the elements.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made
to the
illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention as
hereinafter defined in the Claims.
