Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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WATER ACTUATED INFLATABLE FLOAT DEVICE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to a flotation
device and more particularly to an inflatable flotation device
for attachment to or incorporation into an object having a
density greater than that of water, the device being inflatable
in response to submersion of the object yin water thereby
causing the object to be gloated to the surface of the water
for ease in retrieving the object
There are many instances of objects sinking into the
water which cannot be retrieved at a reasonable cost or for
other reasons. Fox example, much fishing and boating equipment
is lost due to accidental sinking of such equipment. Examples
owe such equipment include fishing rods and reels, outboard
motors, fish tackle boxes and bait boxes and the like. The
loss of such equipment can be costly and inconvenient without
reliable means for retrieving such equipment.
The present invention provides an inflatable flotation
device for recovering sinkable objects which incorporates a
valve mechanism that is rendered operative in response to
submersion in water whereby the inflatable flotation device
will cause the object to be floated to the surface of the water
; for quick recovery
Prior art devices heretofore proposed for retrieving
submerged objects have certain disadvantages For example, the
; devices disclosed in Harper U.S. Patent No. 2,821,725; Bunker
U.S. Patent No. 3,071,787; Davis U.S. Patent No. 3,266,668; and
Jackal U.S. Patent No 4,260,075 require a spring loaded
plunger member having a piercing pin to pierce the seal of a
container of compressed gas when the device is submerged in
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water. The success of recovery therefore depends upon the
proper functioning of the spring loaded piercing pin. The
present device overcomes this disadvantage by providing means
for continuing the compressed gas within the container after
the seal has been pierced by manual means but allowing the gas
to escape and inflate an inflatable article when submerged in
water.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a principal object of the present invention to
provide an inflatable flotation device.
In accordance with one particular aspect of the
present invention, there is provided a flotation device
comprising an inflatable member having an inlet opening
therein, a compressed was source including a container
thrower with a port therein, means normally sealing the port,
a body member having a bore extending there through, means
connecting the port Ox the compressed gas container to the
body member adjacent the bore and in registration therewith in
position so that the means closing the port extends across the
bore, a piston member positioned in the bore an movable
therein between a first position engaging the means sealable
closing the port in the compressed gas container and a second
position spaced from the sealing means, the piston member
having means thereon capable of rupturing the means sealable
closing the port in the compressed gas container in the first
position thereof, an outlet port through the body member
communicating the bore with the inlet opening of the
inflatable member when the piston member is in the second
position thereof other means on the body member normally
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retaining the piston member in the first position thereof, the
other means being operatively engage able with the piston
member and including means responsive -to a liquid in which the
apparatus is submerged to release -the other means engage Abe
with the piston member thereby enabling the compressed gas in
the compressed gas container to move the piston from the first
position to the second position thereby establishing
communication between the compressed gas in the compressed gas
container and the inflatable member by way of the bore and
the outlet port in the body member.
Preferably, and in greater detail of preferred aspects
of the invention, the main body portion comprises a valve
mechanism. The outlet port acts as a gas relief jet which
communicates the bore with the inlet opening of the inflatable
member, such as a balloon. The piston member preferably
extends the length of the bore and has a head at one end that
is substantially equal in diameter to the diameter of the
bore. The air relief jet in the above device can be
positioned in the space between the two positions associated
with the piston member. The shaft of the piston extends
through a hole located at the rear of the bore -that has a
diameter that is substantially equal to the diameter of the
piston shaft. The end of the piston shaft that extends
through the hole abuts a lever member having first and second
ends. The first end is pivotal connected adjacent where the
piston shaft abuts the lever. The second end is attached to a
water destructible member such as a paper ring that will
dissolve or tear when it absorbs water to maintain the piston
member in the one position. This paper ring extends around
the neck of the compressed gas container and is attached so
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that it prevents movement of the lever. The sealing
engagement between the piston head and sealing means across
the port is thereby maintained until the water destructible
member is exposed to water and thereby destroyed. When the
water destructible member no longer holds the lever in
position, the compressed gas will force the piston member to
the other position wherein the gas relief jet is in
communication with the compressed gas in the compressed gas
container. The compressed gas will then pass through the gas
relief jet and into the inflatable article. To control the
destruction of the water destructible member, there is a water
flow regulator positioned adjacent the water destructible
member that Allah extends around -the compressed gas container.
The regulator is open on the side facing the compressed gas
container and has a plurality of small holes on the side
facing the valve mechanism. on absorbent material such as
foam rubber is placed between the open side and the side
containing the plurality of holes so that this, in conjunction
with the plurality of small holes, reduces the flow of water
through the regulator to a minimum. A valve cover, made of
non-permeable material, is placed over the valve mechanism and
is pinched around the edge of the water flow regulator to
protect the main body portion of the valve mechanism as well
as the components therein. The valve cover has a small hole
that lies in registration with the gas relief jet to allow for
the inlet portion of an inflatable article such as a balloon
to be inserted there through to be attached to the valve
mechanism in registration with the gas relief jet.
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The above and other objects and advantages will become
apparent to those familiar with the art after considering the
following detailed specification in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a side elevation Al view of a preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the preferred
embodiment of Fig. 1 in a closed position taken along lines 2-
2 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the preferred
embodiment of Fig. 1 in an open position taken along lines 3-3
of Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
EXILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings, more particularly by
reference numbers, number 10 identifies the valve mechanism
including a main body portion 12 as shown in Fig. 1. The main
I body portion 12 has a compressed gas container 14 extending
into the bore 16 through main body portion 12. The main body
portion 12 has a lever member 18, pivotal connected thereto
by pivot connection 20. Water destructible member 22 extends
around the lever member 18 and around a portion of the
compressed gas container 14 to retain the lever member 18 in a
closed position. Main body portion 12 also has an inflatable
article 24 attached thereto to receive gas when the present
invention is in operation. Inflatable article 24 is attached
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by any suitable means. As shown in Fig. 1, inflatable article
24 is attached directly to the main body portion 12. A water
flow regulator 26 is shown attached to the compressed gas
container 14 which acts in conjunction with a non-permeable
cover 27 (Fill 4) to control the destructibility of member 22.
As shown in Fig. I the main body portion 12 has a cross bore
28 extending there through Adjacent the cross bore 28 and in
communication therewith is a counter bore 30 which has a
threaded counter bore 32 adjacent thereto and in communication
therewith. A piston head member 34 is positioned in the
counter bore 30 with the piston shaft member 36 extending
rearwardly therefrom through cross bore 28.
Compressed gas container 14 preferably has a neck
portion 38 extending therefrom with a passageway 40 extending
there through to allow gas to pass there through. The neck
portion 38 has threads positioned thereon and extends into
threaded counter bore 32 and is engaged thereby. Where a
compressed gas container is utilized that does not have a neck
portion extending therefrom, the counter bore 32 can be made
adaptable to receive thy container adjacent the end thereof so
that when the container is pierced the compressed gas will pass
therefrom and into bore 30. The compressed gas container 14
may be made replaceable so that the same device can be utilized
repeatedly or alternatively, the compressed gas container 14
may be integrally connected to the main body portion 12 whereby
the device will be replaced after it has once been used.
Sealing gasket 42 seals the gas container to retain the
compressed gas therein. Sealing gasket 44 is positioned within
counter bore 30 adjacent cross bore 28 and is adaptable to
receive piston shaft member 36 there through to prevent the
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leakage of gas from threaded counter bore 30. The piston head
member 34 has a gasket piercing pin 46 adapted for piercing the
sealing gasket 42. When piston head member 34 abuts sealing
gasket 42 there is a sealing engagement formed to retain the
gas within gas capsule 14 after piercing pin 30 has pierced the
sealing gasket 42.
Opening 48 provides a gas relief passageway that is in
communication with the counter bore 30 when piston head member
34 is spaced from the sealing means I When piston head
member 34 abuts sealing means 42 to form a sealing engagement
there between, opening 48 is closed off from communication with
the counter bore 30. The opening 48 is positioned to register
with an opening (not shown) in the inflatable article 24 to
allow gas to pass there through to the inflatable article 24.
Lever member Lo is pivotal connected to the main
body portion 12 at 20. hover member 18 is positioned to abut
the end of the piston shaft member 36 to hold the piston head
member 34 in sealing engagement with sealing gasket 42. As
shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the lever member 36 is movable between
on an open and a closed position. Fig. 2 shows the lever member
18 in a closed position wherein water destructible member 22,
which can be a water soluble paper ring, retains the lever
member 18 in the closed position. When in the closed position,
the lever member 18, in combination with the water destructible
member 22, retains the piston shaft member 36 within the cross
bore 28 thereby maintaining a sealing engagement between the
piston head member 34 and sealing gasket 42. Fig. 3 shows the
lever member 18 in an open position wherein the force
associated with the compressed gas causes the piston head
member 34 to move out of sealing engagement with the sealing
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gasket 42. the piston shaft member 36 slides through the cross
bore 28 whereby the opening 48 forming the gas relief
passageway is exposed to the gas that has entered the counter
bore 30 due to the disengagement of the piston head member 34
and the sealing gasket 42. The gas then passes through the
opening 48 to the inflatable article 24. Due to the pressure
created within the counter bore 30 from the expanding gas,
piston head member 34 is forced to the rear of counter bore 30
to a position wherein piston head member 34 abuts sealing
lo gasket 44 thereby further preventing gas leakage from counter
bore 30.
There is provided in the preferred embodiment a water
slow regulator member 26 that extends around and is attached to
the compressed gas container 14. The water flow regulator
member 26 is open on the side facing the compressed gas
container 14 and has a plurality of small holes 50 on -the
opposite side. on absorbent material such as foam rubber is
placed adjacent the plurality ox holes. An alternate
embodiment contemplates that the water flow regulator be
integrally formed with the main body portion. A valve cover
27, made of non-permeable material, is placed over the valve
mechanism lo and pinched around the water flow regulator member
26 as shown in Fig. 4. The valve cover 27 also has an opening
therein to resiliently engage the inflatable article 24 as
inflatable article 24 extends there through and is attached to
the main body portion 12 with the opening in the inflatable
article 24 being in registration with opening 48. Inflatable
article 24 is therefore free to inflate and the resilient
engagement of valve cover 27 with inflatable article 24
prevents water from entering there through. Since the valve
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cover 27 protects the valve mechanism 10 and the water
destructible member 22, the water flow regulator member 26,
through which the water must pass to reach the water
destructible member 22, controls the operativeness of the
device The valve cover 27 also protects the device from the
weather which causes corrosion and non-functioning of the parts
as well as premature activation. Thus, if the device is
dropped or placed in shallow water a longer time will be
required to activate the valve mechanism 10. If the device is
exposed to rain or moisture, the valve mechanism 10 will not be
activated. I-lowever, when the device is dropped or placed in
deeper water, the water pressure will be greater which will
force more water through the water flow regulator member 26 and
into the valve cover 27, thereby exposing the water
destructible member 22 thus allowing the device to become
operative in a short period of time.
In operation, the lever member 18 is placed in the
closed position as shown in Fig. 2, which forces the piston
shaft member 36 and piston head member 34 in a direction toward
threaded counter bore 32 thereby causing gasket piercing pin 46
to pierce sealing gasket 42 when compressed gas container 14 is
attached adjacent to counter bore 30. Alternatively, lever
member 18 can be moved to the closed position after attachment
of compressed gas container 14 whereby sealing gasket 42 is
pierced in the same manner The piston head member 34 abuts
sealing gasket 42 thereby maintaining a sealing engagement to
retain the compressed gas, such as carbon dioxide, in
compressed gas container 14. A water destructible member 22 is
placed over the lever member 18 and the neck portion 38 of
compressed gas container 14 to retain lever member 18 in a
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closed position. Water destructible member 22 is in the form
of a band or strip ox water soluble rayon or paper. The
thickness of the band or strip can vary depending on the
strength of the Rand or strip that it required to hold lever
member 18 in the closed position. This will depend on the
pressure in the compressed gas container 14 and will also
depend on the composition of water destructible member 22. In
the preferred embodiment, water destructible member 22 is
formed of tissue type paper that is relatively thin and will
lo readily absorb water.
The device is then attached to or incorporated into a
sinkable object by any suitable means including clasp means and
the like. As shown in Ego. 4, the device is attached to a
fishing rod 54 by clasp member 56 which extends around the
compressed gas container 14 and fishing rod 54. Upon the
dropping or placing of the sinkable object in water, the water
will dissolve or otherwise destroy water destructible member 22
thereby rendering lever member 18 free to pivot between the
closed position and open position. The compressed carbon
dioxide fortes piston head member 34 in a direction away from
compressed gas container 14 thereby breaking the sealing
engagement between piston head member 34 and scaling gasket
42. This forces piston shaft member 36 rearwardly which forces
lever member I to pivot to the open position. As piston head
member 34 is forced away from sealing gasket 42 the opening 48
communicates with the compressed carbon dioxide. The carbon
dioxide then passes through opening 48 and through the opening
in inflatable article 24. The inflation of the inflatable
article 24 then cause the sinkable object to float to the
surface of the water for easy retrieval. If the device is
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constructed with the compressed gas container being
replaceable, the device can be utilized again by replacing the
water destructible member 22 and the compressed gas container
14. If the device is constructed with the gas container being
integrally connected to main body portion 12 r the device must
be replaced.
The size of the present device will vary according to
its intended use. For fishing rods and the like the device can
be constructed so as to be adaptable to incorporate the device
into the fishing rod handle. hanger sinkable objects require a
larger device embodying the present invention and such devices
can readily be constructed according to the disclosure herein.
In addition, con much larger objects a cord or rope can be used
with one end attached to the device disclosed herein and the
opposite end attached to the sinkable object. The present
device will float the cord or rope to the surface so that the
sinkable object can be pulled to the surface by pulling the
rope or cord. 'rho present device can easily be operated
manually by attaching a string, handle or like device to the
water destructible member 22 before attachment to or
incorporation into a sinkable object. In addition, attachment
; of a string, handle or like device to lever member 18 will also
provide means for manual operation since the water destructible
member 22 it constructed of relatively light material such as a
paper ring. This would provide a device adaptable for use in
life preservers or other like devices wherein the user can
manually operate the valve mechanism as desired, or if the user
is unable to manually operate the flotation device the device
will automatically inflate upon submersion in water.
Thus there has been shown and described novel means
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for an inflatable float device for sinkable objects which
fulfills all of the objects and advantages sought therefore It
will be apparent, however, that many changes, variations,
modifications, or other uses and adaptations of the subject
device are possible, and all such changes variations,
modifications or other uses and adaptations which do not
depart from the spirit of the present invention are deemed to
be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims
which follow.
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