RU2740419C2 - Rescue facility - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: shipbuilding.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to rescue and search facilities for those in distress on water, and can be used for rescue of people on water. Rescue means comprises a housing, an inflatable member, a propulsion unit and a propulsor connected therewith. In addition, rescue device is equipped with float, on which inflatable element is arranged in folded state and closed with cover.

EFFECT: enabling the possibility of movement of the rescue device with folded inflatable elements.

7 cl, 5 dwg

Description

The invention relates to the field of shipbuilding, namely, to rescue and search equipment for those in distress on the water and can be used to rescue people on the water.

Known is a remotely controlled motorized rescue buoy comprising: a rigid body having a V-shaped bottom, a rectangular platform on the upper surface of the body extending beyond the outer periphery of the body, a jet pump and a propeller located in a watertight compartment in the body (US Patent No. 8,882,555). The electric motor is housed in a watertight compartment in the housing and is connected to the jet pump unit. The buoy contains a radio receiver, which is configured to wirelessly receive control signals from the remote control transmitter, and the control unit is housed in a waterproof compartment in the housing and connected to the radio receiver to control the speed of the electric motor and jet pump. The mover, in response to control signals received from the radio receiver, changes the speed and direction of the buoy so that a person floating in the water can grab and hold the rescue buoy by the rail located around the platform, and then the rescue buoy can move to support and delivering troubled swimmers to a safe place.

The disadvantage of this design is the possibility of using it only as a supporting person in the water, afloat, which cannot be used in conditions, for example, in northern latitudes, due to hypothermia of the body of the person being saved.

It is also known a rescue vessel equipped with an electric propulsion system (Application WO 2015107019), the body of which is made in the form of inflatable elements located in the body, and which is stored until the moment of its use on the ship in a compact folded form. If necessary, the folded vessel is lowered into the water and inflated. Thus, the vessel is ready to receive rescued people on board. After loading people, the propulsion system of the ship is turned on and it leaves the ship.

This rescue vessel is the closest to the claimed invention and is selected as a prototype.

The prototype eliminates the design flaw in US patent No. 8,882,555, that is, people are accommodated in the ship without contacting water, but there are often cases when it is required to rescue people or groups of people already in the water, due to, for example, a shipwreck. These people need to be found, sometimes over long distances. In this case, the range and speed of the life-saving craft plays an important role, and the cruising range closely depends on its economical progress, since the lower the power consumption of the propulsion system, the greater the cruising range, and the speed depends on resistance and contours. Energy consumption can be reduced, in particular, by reducing the surface area, in our case, of the life-saving craft in contact with water.

The disadvantage of the prototype is the increased power consumption of the propulsion system of the rescue vessel, since in the working (inflated) state the surface area of the vessel in contact with water is much larger than the area of the hull in which the folded vessel is located.

The objective of the claimed invention is to reduce the power consumption of the propulsion system, by reducing the area of the life-saving equipment in contact with water.

The technical result of the claimed invention is to provide the possibility of movement of the rescue vehicle with folded inflatable elements.

The claimed technical result is achieved by the fact that the rescue vehicle in the search mode for people in distress has the ability to move in the form when the inflatable element is compactly folded (rolled up) in the rescue vehicle. Since the inflatable element may not have positive buoyancy, it is located on a float made, for example, of a gas-filled material, or in the form of a sealed gas-filled plastic body. Inside the float, at the bottom, there can be a propulsion system with a propeller brought down into the water. This design will ensure the stability of the life-saving craft. On the upper outer surface of the float, a folded inflatable element is located, which is closed by a cover or, for example, a cover made of flexible material. The cover can be attached to the float with locks or quick-release fasteners, for example, a Velcro fastener, which, in the form of a tape along the entire lateral perimeter of the float, connects the cover to the float. Thus, a compartment is formed on the float, which is formed by the upper outer surface of the float and a cover made of flexible material. Inside this compartment there is a compressed gas cylinder connected to the inner cavity of the inflatable element through a shut-off valve. A fuel tank, preferably of elastic material, for powering a propulsion system with an internal combustion engine or a battery for powering a propulsion system with an electric motor can also be located inside the compartment for an inflatable element, but can also be placed inside the float. The specific design of these units depends on various aspects, for example, the stability of the life-saving craft, its buoyancy, carrying capacity, etc. In addition, in the case of using an internal combustion engine, it is necessary to provide a snorkel for supplying air to the engine, as well as to ensure the release of exhaust gases. There are also systems for navigation and control of the rescue vehicle inside the compartment.

Everything described above applies to life-saving craft, which contain the following systems:

- control of the drives for starting and operating the engine and turning the device;

- determining the location of the rescued;

- data exchange with the base facility, other rescue vessels and the rescued person;

- automatic approach to the rescued person;

- delivery of a life support kit to the rescued person, including a thermal immersion suit, an emergency kit;

- transportation of the rescued person either in automatic mode, or in semi-automatic mode (according to the program introduced by the rescued persons - shore, base facility, rescue boat), or manually to collective rescue means, ship, shore, etc.

Such life-saving appliances are known, for example, in the analogue of this application - US patent No. 8,882,555.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the life-saving device in a folded state, FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the life-saving device in a folded state, FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the life-saving device in a working (inflated) state, FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control and navigation of the life-saving vehicle; FIG. 5 - view A of FIG. one.

The life-saving device consists of a float 1 (gas-filled or gas-filled material), in the lower part of which there is a propulsion system 2 with a propeller 3. On the upper outer surface of the float 1 there is an inflatable element 4 (in Figs. 1, 2 in a folded state) and a balloon 5 with compressed gas, connected in a known manner through a shut-off valve to the inner cavity of the inflatable element 4. There are also located the power supply module 6 for the propulsion system 2, the propulsion system control system 7, the navigation system 8, the system 9 for bringing the life-saving device into working condition, the transceiver device 10, associated with the command device 11. The inflatable element 4 in the folded state is covered with a cover 12 with fasteners 13. On the body of the float there is a handle 14 for manually bringing the life-saving device into working condition.

The rescue vehicle works as follows.

When a signal arrives at the base station about people in distress, the rescue vehicle is launched into the water or it is already in the water in readiness mode. The navigation system 8 determines the coordinates of finding those in distress and determines the direction of movement of the rescue vehicle. When a command is received through the receiving-transmitting device 10 to the command device 11, it, through the control system 7, starts the propulsion system 2 and the rescue vehicle in the folded state begins to move towards the rescued, and the navigation device constantly corrects its course by sending commands to the control system 7 through command device 11. When approaching the rescue vehicle with the people being rescued, the command device 11 sends a command to the system 9 for bringing the life-saving device into working condition, which opens the shut-off valve of the cylinder 5 with compressed gas. This operation can also be performed by acting on the handle 14, which is connected to the system 9. The inflatable element 4, which is in the lid, in particular in the cover, 12 is filled. The cover 12 is fixed on the side perimeter of the float 1 with a Velcro fastener in the form of a tape in such a way (Fig. 5) that, when the pressure of the inflatable inflatable element 4 is exceeded on the inner walls of the cover 12 of the adhesion force of the fastener elements, it opens and the inflatable element 4 takes the position of the raft (Fig. 3), which has a float in the middle part 1 The life-saving craft is ready to receive rescues. After the rescued has positioned itself on the surface of the rescue vehicle, it can move to the nearest object where people will receive help. This movement is possible both when navigating and controlling the propulsion system by an external command source, as well as in manual mode.

Claims (7)

1. A life-saving device comprising a body, an inflatable element, a propulsion system and a propeller associated with it, characterized in that it is additionally equipped with a float on which the inflatable element is placed in a folded state with a closed cover. 2. The rescue vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the roof is provided with means for fixing it with a float. 3. The rescue vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover is made in the form of a cover made of flexible material. 4. The life-saving device according to claim 3, characterized in that the cover is provided with fasteners. 5. The life-saving device according to claim 4, characterized in that the fasteners are made of the Velcro type. 6. The rescue vehicle according to claim 5, characterized in that the fasteners are made in the form of a tape and connect the cover with the float along its lateral perimeter. 7. The life-saving device according to claim 1, characterized in that the system for bringing the life-saving device into working condition comprises a handle for manually bringing the system into working condition.

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