Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE: RESCUE WATER CRAFT
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to the field of water crafts. More
specifically, the invention relates to a water craft suitable for rescue
operations.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Water surfaces such as lakes or rivers may constitute hazards to humans. This
type of hazard is especially frequent when the water surface is frozen, as the
looks of the surface may be quite deceiving. Indeed, although it looks safe to
circulate on the frozen surface, the ice may break under load, throwing a
passer-
by in freezing waters. Unfortunately, such situations happen regularly,
especially
in spring when the ice thaws.
When such situations occur, rescue teams rush on site to help the distressed
person. In these cases, specialized equipment is often used. Such equipment
may include a rescue water craft comprising an opening to pull the distressed
person out of the water. Examples of such type of water crafts having openings
are disclosed in US Patents 5,170,738 to Patten and 5,888,111 to Walker. US
Patent 5,170,738 discloses an inflatable water craft having a raised bow and
equipped with an opening in the bow circumscribed by an inflatable structure.
This water craft is used by scuba divers to more easily pull themselves into
the
craft. However, the bow of this water craft, not being specifically designed
for
rescue operations, is too low to permit a floating distressed person to be
rescued
without pushing its head down in water. US Patent 5,888,111 to Walker
describes an inflatable rescue water craft having both a raised bow and stern,
each of the bow and stern circumscribing an opening by which a distressed
person may be pulled in the water craft. Although this water craft is designed
for
rescue operations, it is more adapted for rescues in warm weather than rescues
in cold weather. Indeed, the openings being of a limited dimension, it is
cumbersome to extract from water a distressed person wearing large garments
such as a snowmobile suit and sometimes even a helmet. Furthermore, in order
to pull the distressed person from water, a rescuer needs to kneel down on a
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floor of the water craft and pull the distressed person on the floor. This
rescuing
position requires a large amount of force from the rescuer's arms and back,
especially when the distressed person wears thick garments that become heavy
with water. This renders the rescue cumbersome and causes a risk of injury to
the rescuer. Another disadvantage of this particular water craft is that
rescuers
need to adopt a seated or kneeled down position when navigating on it,
somehow limiting their field of view for searching.
There is therefore a need for an improved rescue water craft that is better
adapted for rescuing operations and that provides rescuers with better options
of
rescuing and searching positions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a rescue water craft that
overcomes or mitigates one or more disadvantages of known rescue water
crafts, or at least provides a useful alternative.
The invention provides the advantages of being well adapted for rescuing
operations in cold waters where distressed persons often wear large garments
such as a snowmobile suit and a helmet.
The invention also provides the advantage of providing rescuers with options
of
rescuing positions for pulling a person from water.
The invention also provides the advantage of providing rescuers with an
improved searching positions for searching a person in water.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a
rescue water craft comprising an elongated closed-loop tubular structure and a
floor. The tubular structure has a mid portion and two end portions. Both end
portions rise upwardly and outwardly from the mid portion at an angle
comprised
between 70 and 85 degrees. The floor partially runs along the mid portion. The
floor is attached to and encircled by the tubular structure. Each of the two
end
portions defines an opening between the tubular structure and the floor.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
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:
Figure 1 is a top view of a rescue water craft in accordance with an
embodiment
of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a side view of the rescue water craft of Figure 1
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the rescue water craft of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a side view, in use, of the rescue water craft of Figure 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The rescue water craft of the present invention is used for rescue
operation in water, icy waters or on muddy terrain. The water craft is
provided
with an opening at both the bow and helm for extracting a distressed person
from
water. A rescuer positions himself so that he is capable of pulling the
distressed
person out of water from one of the openings and then lays the distressed
person
on a floor of the water craft, where the rescuer can provide first aid.
Figure 1, which is now referred to, illustrates the rescue water craft 10. The
rescue water craft 10 is made of an elongated closed-loop tubular structure
12.
This tubular structure 12 has a mid portion 14 and two end portions 16. The
mid
portion 14 is defined as being the straight portion of the rescue water craft
10
joining both end portions 16. The two end portions are commonly known as the
bow and stern of the water craft although, in this type of water craft, both
end
portions 16 may be symmetrical and therefore it is impossible to distinguish
the
bow from the stern.
The rescue water craft 10 is also equipped with a floor 18 partially running
along
the length of the mid portion 14 and spanning laterally from one side of the
tubular structure 12 to its other side. The floor 18 is thereby encircled by
the
tubular structure 12. The floor 18 is interrupted such as to create two
openings
20 defined as the open space in between each extremity 21 of the floor 18 and
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the tubular structure 12 of each end portion 16. Taken horizontally, or along
the
longitudinal axis of the mid portion 14, a major part of the openings 20 is
located
in the mid portion 14. Each of the two openings 20 may be used by rescuers to
pull a distressed person from water and lay the person on the floor 18. Once
on
the floor 18, it is easier for the rescuer to provide first aid to the
distressed
person.
As best shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3, which are now concurrently referred
to,
both end portions 16 rise upwardly and outwardly from the mid portion 14 at an
angle comprised between 70 and 85 degrees. A narrower range of between 75
and 80 degrees may also be used. Both end portions 16 may have their sides 19
tapered towards their top portion 22. Hence, the top portions 22 have a
smaller
diameter than the diameter of the mid portion 14. The sides 19 of the end
portions 16 are equipped with handles 23 to provide grip to the rescuers when
they adopt a stand-up position, as will be discussed below.
Such a rescue water craft geometry provides many advantages. First, for a
given
overall height of the rescue water craft 10, the tapered shape of the end
portions
16 provides added clearance in the opening 20. Furthermore, because they rise
at a steep angle, the end portions 16 do not extend horizontally as much as
with
a shallower angle, thereby providing a shorter water craft that is more
maneuverable. This is especially useful when rescuing a person close to
waterfalls. Moreover, the rescuer may adopt a better searching position by
standing-up and resting against one of the end portions 16. If need be, the
rescuer may secure himself by grabbing the handles 23. Adopting this searching
position improves the rescuer's perspective of the environment and
consequently, his chances of spotting the distressed person. This is an
important
improvement over similar existing rescue water crafts where it is not possible
to
stand-up. Likewise, it has been found that the view from a rescuer's
perspective
thorough the opening is better, which allows for an easier approach and
positioning of the rescue water craft 10 around the floating distressed
person.
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Figure 4, now concurrently referred to, depicts a first rescuer 24, his lower
back
resting against one end portion 16, similarly to the position someone may
adopt
in a raft going down a river, to spot rocks and other obstacles. It is
possible to
adopt this position because of the steep angle of the end portions 16. To
steady
5 himself, the first rescuer 24 grabs the handles 23 and places his feet
against the
floor 18, or against the floor extremity 21. As can be seen, the specific
geometry
of the end portions 16 allows the first rescuer 24 to stand up and adopt a
high
searching position, thereby greatly enhancing his perspective of the
environment,
and enlarging his field of view. This is particularly useful when the water
surface
is rough and there are waves behind which the distressed person could be
hidden, such as in a swift river. Similarly, this same geometry provides a
good
field of view 26 of the distressed person 28 through the opening 20. In
addition,
such geometry of the end portions 16 brings closer the top portion 22 from the
nearest extremity of the floor 18 such that a second rescuer 30 may adopt a
new
rescuing position and method of rescuing. Indeed, because the top portion 22
is
closer to the extremity 21 of the floor 18, it is possible for the second
rescuer 30
to rest his lower back against the top portion 22 and have his feet contact
the
floor 18, such that he can assume the new rescuing position. Adopting this
position, the second rescuer 30 then bends his back and extends his arms to
reach for and grab the distressed person 28. The second rescuer 30 then uses
the force of his legs, back and arms to pull the distressed person 28 out of
the
water and lay the distressed person 28 on the floor 18. This is very useful,
for
example, in cold water conditions when the distressed person 28 wears thick
clothing, such as a snowmobile suit and even a helmet and therefore weighs
much more than its dry weight.
Although other dimensions may provide adequate results, it has been found that
providing at least 20 inches of vertical opening clearance 31, best shown in
Figure 2 and defined as a vertical distance between a lowest part of the mid
portion 14 and a bottom of the top portion 22, allowed rescuing the distressed
person 28 without having to push his head down to clear the top portion 22.
Moreover, positioning the closest extremity 21 of the floor 18 such as to
create a
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longitudinal opening clearance 33, best shown in Figure 1, of approximately 28
inches allowed the second rescuer 30 to adopt the new rescuing position while
still maintaining a sufficiently large opening 22. The person skilled in the
art will
appreciate that this dimension may somewhat vary while still providing
adequate
performance.
It is possible to make the tubular structure 12 inflatable. Simiiarly, the
floor 18
may also be inflatable. This is indeed very convenient for rescue teams since
the
rescue water craft 10 may be compactly stored in a bag and deployed in no time
once arrived on a rescue site. As best shown in Figure 1, now referred to, the
rescue water craft 10 may be equipped with one or more inflation valves 32,
34,
respectively located on the tubular structure 12 and the floor 18. Optionally,
the
tubular structure 12 and the floor 18 may be in fluid communication so that
the
rescue water craft 10 may be equipped with a single inflation valve 32. This
is
convenient as the rescue water craft 10 may be rapidly inflated using, for
example, compressed air.
For safety reasons, the tubular structure 12 may be provided with at least two
internal chambers 36, divided by internal walls 38. These two internal chamber
36 may be in fluid communication with each other through a check valve 40
located in one of the internal walls 38. The check valve 40 must be oriented
correctly such that the air may flow from the inflation valve 32 located in
one
internal chamber 36 to the other internal chamber 36.
The tubular structure 12 and the floor 18 may be made of a variety of
materials
such as aluminum, in the case the rescue water craft 10 is not inflatable, or
HypalonTM in the case the rescue water craft 10 is inflatable. HypalonTM has
been
found to provide very good performance and provides a very rigid structure
once
inflated to an adequate pressure of approximately 3 psi.
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
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without departing from the scope of the invention as described herein, and
such
modifications are intended to be covered by the present description.
