EP3544888B1 - Quick refill for an inflation device - Google Patents

Description

Technical area

The present invention relates to the field of the prevention and reduction of injuries related to a fall in general, in particular to the practice of motorcycling, skiing or horse riding, and more particularly an inflation device with rapid recharging for a inflatable safety vest.

Prior technique

With the democratization of the practice of horse riding and skiing and in particular of so-called "extreme" skiing such as off-piste skiing, attempts have been made to develop systems intended to protect, during falls, motorcyclists, riders or skiers, and more specifically the most exposed parts of their body such as, for example, the neck, the thorax, the spine, the abdomen and the hips.

Thus, so-called "intelligent" protections have been developed. This type of protection is conventionally made up of an inflatable safety vest of very small size and able to be inflated very quickly by a gas, when the wearer falls, to prevent the latter from hitting the ground violently. The operation of this vest is analogous to the operation of the "airbags" installed in vehicles.

Thus, the inflatable vest comprises a sealed "airbag" pocket capable of being inflated and being integrated into a textile and distributed around the body of the user so as to protect certain previously identified areas of the body, said pocket itself possibly being integrated in the form of a jacket lining. Said inflatable safety vest also comprises an inflation device connected to the two wheels or horse by a strap and able to allow the release of a gas, conventionally carbon dioxide CO2, contained in a cartridge of liquefied gas.

One of the main problems encountered during the development of these active protections is to refill the gas cartridge easily and quickly in order to make the inflatable safety vest operational again.

• le vissage : l'ancienne cartouche doit donc être dévissée avant de visser la nouvelle cartouche, ces opérations sont assez longues et fastidieuses (approximativement 40 secondes), ou
• le montage "rapide" obtenu grâce à une bague en forme de baïonnette solidaire de chaque cartouche, le montage est alors plus rapide (environ 3 secondes) mais en cas de vissage approximatif sans aller en butée, le risque d'expulsion de la cartouche lors du gonflage est réel et donc dangereux pour le porteur du gilet gonflable de sécurité.

However, currently, after activation and inflation of the "airbag" pocket of the inflatable safety vest, the CO2 cartridge must be removed to be replaced with a new one (full). To fix the said cartridge, we know the following two modes:

• screwing: the old cartridge must therefore be unscrewed before screwing the new cartridge, these operations are quite long and tedious (approximately 40 seconds), or
• the "rapid" assembly obtained thanks to a ring in the shape of a bayonet attached to each cartridge, assembly is then faster (approximately 3 seconds) but in the event of approximate screwing without going to the stop, the risk of expulsion of the cartridge during inflation is real and therefore dangerous for the wearer of the inflatable safety vest.

Inflation devices such as those described in particular in the patent applications BE 337 871 , UK 1,122,864 or US 2009/071476 , but the latter are complex to implement and recharge, and lack reliability.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is therefore to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and to present an inflation device for an inflatable safety vest that is reliable, quickly and easily rechargeable.

In accordance with the first object of the invention, there is therefore proposed a refillable inflation device for an inflatable safety vest comprising a refill containing at least two pressurized gas cartridges arranged side by side so as to form a row and a release casing comprising at least one percussion device allowing, in the event of activation, the pierceable end to be perforated simultaneously or successively of each cartridge so as to release the gas it contains in gaseous form outside the inflation device through at least one orifice arranged on the release casing, the refill comprising fixing means on its underside and positioning means provided for orienting each cartridge so that its perforable end is positioned along the three dimensions on the side of said fixing members, said release casing comprising complementary fixing means on its upper face capable of cooperating with said fastening means, or vice versa, to guarantee a removable and gas-tight fastening contained in said cartridges, of the refill and of the release casing between them, the inflation device being remarkable in that the means for fixing the refill comprise at least one groove whose cross section is in the general shape of an inverted T or L and that the complementary fixing means of the release casing comprise at least one rail whose cross section is in the general shape of an inverted T or L and homothetic to the cross section of the said groove, the dimensions of the cross section of each rail being slightly lower than those of the associated groove, so as to allow each rail to be inserted into the associated groove while guaranteeing sealing between each rail and the associated groove.

The positioning means are advantageously a neck located in the lower part of the refill and capable of receiving the perforable end of each cartridge.

Preferably, the neck comprises, from the outside towards the inside of the refill, an orifice whose dimensions are very slightly greater than those of the perforable end of the associated cartridge, a shoulder extending outwards from said orifice, and a truncated cone extending from said shoulder towards the inside of the refill while widening.

In addition, the positioning means preferably comprise at least one sealing member between each perforable end and the associated neck.

According to a preferred embodiment, the means for fixing the refill comprise, on the one hand, between each pair of cartridges, a first groove whose cross section is in the general shape of a T and, on the other hand, on both sides on the other side of the row of cartridges, a second groove whose cross section is in the general shape of an inverted L and the complementary fixing means of the release casing comprise, on the one hand, a first rail capable of cooperating with each first groove and whose cross section is in the general shape of a T and, on the other hand, a second rail capable of cooperating with each second groove and whose cross section is in the general shape of an inverted L, the dimensions of the cross section of each of the first and second rails being slightly lower than those of the associated first or second groove, so as to allow each of the first and second rails to be inserted into the associated first or second groove e while guaranteeing the seal between each rail and the associated groove.

The complementary fixing means advantageously comprise at least one retractable locking pin to prevent any involuntary disassembly of the refill and of the release casing, when the complementary fixing means are inserted into the fixing means.

Each locking pin preferably comprises a rod able to slide along its longitudinal axis on the inside in an orifice arranged in the upper part of the release casing, under the action of a thrust member disposed inside the said orifice, the said thrust member tending in pushing the rod towards the outside of the release casing so as to engage it in an orifice arranged in the underside of the refill.

Brief description of the figures

• la figure 1 est une vue de face extérieure d'un dispositif de gonflage selon l'invention ;
• la figure 2 est une vue de coupe frontale partielle du dispositif de gonflage de la figure 1 ;
• la figure 3 est une vue éclatée du dispositif de gonflage de la figure 2.

Other advantages and characteristics will emerge better from the description which follows, of a particular embodiment, given by way of non-limiting example, of a rechargeable inflation device for an inflatable safety vest in accordance with the invention, with reference to the appended figures in which:

• the figure 1 is an exterior front view of an inflation device according to the invention;
• the figure 2 is a partial front sectional view of the inflator of the figure 1 ;
• the picture 3 is an exploded view of the inflator of the figure 2 .

Best way to perform the technical invention

With reference to figures 1 to 3 , there is shown the rechargeable inflation device 1 according to the invention for an inflatable safety vest, not shown in the figures. Said inflation device 1 comprises a refill 2 containing at least two, preferably four, cartridges 3 of pressurized gas, conventionally carbon dioxide, arranged side by side so as to form a row and a release casing 4 allowing, in the event of activation, that is to say in the example described in the event of a fall of the wearer of the inflatable safety vest, to simultaneously or successively perforate each of said cartridges 3 so as to release the gas they contain in gaseous form inside the inflatable safety vest in order to ensure its deployment.

Said refill 2 is a casing in the general shape of a hollow flattened parallelepiped comprising fastening means 5, advantageously on its underside 21, and positioning means provided for orienting the gas cartridges 3 so that their perforable end 31 is positioned along the three dimensions on the side of said fasteners 5.

Said positioning means are advantageously a neck 22 located in the lower part 21 of the refill 2 and capable of receiving the perforable end 31 of each cartridge 3, in order to guarantee the correct positioning of each cartridge 3 inside the refill. 2.

Said neck 22 comprises, from the outside towards the inside of the refill 2, an orifice 23 whose dimensions are very slightly greater than those of the perforable end 31 of the associated cartridge 3, a shoulder 24 extending towards the outside of said orifice 23, and a truncated cone 25 extending from said shoulder 24 towards the inside of refill 2 while widening.

Thus, with this configuration, each cartridge 3 is introduced by inserting its perforable end 31 into the truncated cone 25, then into the orifice 23 until the outer wall of the cartridge 3 comes into abutment on the shoulder 24 , so as to guarantee the correct positioning of the cartridge 3 in three dimensions, at least of its perforable end 31.

It is understood that, to avoid the risk of ejection of the cartridges 3 during their emptying, the latter will be blocked inside the refill 3, after their installation as described above, by holding members, not represented, such as for example clips.

In addition, in order to guarantee sealing, the positioning means comprise at least one sealing member 26 between each perforable end 31 and the associated neck 22, said sealing member 26 advantageously being an O-ring placed at right of the shoulder 24 of each neck 22 (Cf. picture 3 ).

The release casing 4 is in the general shape of a hollow flattened parallelepiped comprising complementary fixing means 6, advantageously on its upper face 41, being capable of cooperating with the fixing means 5 of the refill 2, or vice versa, to guarantee fixing. removable and tight to the gas contained in said cartridges 3, refill 2 and release casing 4 between them.

The release casing 4 also contains at least one percussion device 7 associated with each of the cartridges 3 and capable of perforating the associated cartridge 3, in the event of the wearer of the inflatable safety vest falling, so as to release the gas that it contains in gaseous form inside said inflatable safety vest in order to ensure its deployment. The release casing 4 further comprises an orifice 8 in line with each percussion device 7 connecting the interior of said release casing 4 and the exterior of the inflation device 1 in order to allow the passage of gas to the exterior. of the inflation device 1, and therefore in the example described inside said inflatable safety vest.

A detailed embodiment of said percussion devices 7 contained in the release casing 4 is described in another patent application filed concurrently in the name of the applicant and which relates specifically to this aspect.

However, the refill 2 and the release housing 4 may be slightly curved to adapt to the morphology of the human body, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The term lower or upper designates here elements or parts of elements located below or above when the inflation device 1 according to the invention is used under normal conditions, namely fixed to a vest worn by a standing individual of so as to have the refill 2 placed above the release casing 4. These lower and upper terms will have to be adapted if the inflation device 1 is fixed differently under normal conditions.

Furthermore, here the term "fixation or insertion tight to the gas contained in said cartridges 3" means a fixing or insertion making it possible to obtain not necessarily an absolute tightness which is difficult to achieve, but a tightness sufficient to guarantee that the gas released from the cartridges 3 will spread in the associated safety vest through the orifice 8 of the release casing 4, in sufficient quantity to ensure its complete inflation and not outside the inflation device 1 according to the invention.

With reference to figure 2 and 3 , the fixing means 5 of the refill 2 comprise at least one groove 51,52 whose cross section is in the general shape of an inverted T or L.

Similarly, the complementary fastening means 6 of the release casing 4 comprise at least one rail 61,62 whose cross section is in the general shape of an inverted T or L and homothetic to the cross section of the groove 51,52 of the means fixing 5 of the refill 2. However, the dimensions of the cross section of each rail 61,62 are slightly smaller than those of the associated groove 51,52, so as to allow each rail 61,62 to be inserted into the groove 51.52 associated while guaranteeing the seal between each rail 61.62 and the associated groove 51.52.

According to a preferred embodiment, the fixing means 5 of the refill 2 comprise, on the one hand, between each pair of cartridges 3, therefore between each neck 22, a groove 51, then called first, whose cross section is in general shape of T and, on the other hand, on either side of the row of cartridges 3, a groove 52, then called second, whose cross section is in the general shape of an inverted L. The complementary fixing means 6 of the release casing 4 then comprise, on the one hand, a rail 61, then named first, capable of cooperating with each first groove 51, the cross section of which is in the general shape of a T and, of on the other hand, a rail 62, then named second, capable of cooperating with each second groove 52, the cross section of which is in the general shape of an inverted L.

It is well understood that the multiplication of the rail 61,62 - groove 51,52 sets makes it possible to guarantee the maintenance in place of the refill assembly 2 - release casing 4 and to avoid any ejection of the refill 2 during the emptying of the cartridges 3.

However, according to an extreme embodiment, the refill 2 - release casing 4 assembly may only be assembled by the second grooves 52 and the second rails 62 or by a single first groove 51 - first rails 61 assembly, without leaving within the scope of the present invention.

The complementary fixing means 6 of the release casing 4 further comprise at least one retractable locking pin 63 to prevent any involuntary disassembly of the refill 2 and the release casing 4, when the complementary fixing means 6 are inserted into the fastening means 5.

Said locking pin 63 comprises a rod 64 capable of sliding along its longitudinal axis inside in an orifice 65 arranged in the upper part 41 of the release casing 4 under the action of a thrust member 66 disposed at inside said orifice 65, said thrust member 66 advantageously being a helical spring tending to push rod 64 towards the outside of release casing 4. Rod 64 is capable of being engaged in an orifice 53 arranged in the lower face 21 of the refill 2, when the refill 2 is assembled on the release casing 4, the complementary fastening means 6 inserted into the fastening means 5.

According to a preferred embodiment, the complementary fixing means 6 of the release casing 4 comprise a locking pin 63 at each of its longitudinal ends.

Finally, the complementary fixing means 6 of the release casing 4 comprise a mobile maneuvering member 67 associated with each locking pin 63 to allow the latter to be disengaged from the associated orifice 53 and to disassemble the refill 2 and the release casing 4, with a view, for example, to replacing said refill 2 with a view to making the inflation device 1 operational again.

Thus, with this configuration, it is understood that it is particularly quick and simple to make the inflation device 1 operational. Indeed, it suffices to take a refill 2 with cartridges 3 full of gas and to assemble it on the release casing 4 by inserting its fixing means 5 on the complementary fixing means 6 of the release casing 4 until snap-fastening, that is to say until the rod 64 of each locking pin 63 engages in the orifice 53 of the associated refill 2.

Similarly, to remove a used refill 2, you must disengage the rod 64 of each locking pin 63 from the hole 53 of the associated refill 2 and disassemble it from the release housing 4 by sliding it along the rails 61,62.

Finally, it is clearly understood that, according to an "extreme" embodiment, the fixing means 5 of the refill 2 may comprise at least one rail whose cross section is in the general shape of an inverted T or L and the fixing means complementary 6 of the release housing 4 may include at least one groove whose cross section is generally T-shaped or L-shaped, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Similarly, the refill 2 may comprise only one cartridge 3 without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Possibility of industrial application

It is well understood that the rechargeable inflation device 1 according to the invention is preferably used for the deployment of an inflatable safety vest in the event of a fall of a motorcyclist or rider. However, it is obvious that the inflation device 1 according to the invention can be adapted and used to release gas for other purposes such as, for example, fire protection.

Finally, it goes without saying that the examples of inflation device 1 in accordance with the invention which have just been described are only specific illustrations, in no way limiting the invention.

Claims (7)

1. A refillable inflation device (1) for an inflatable safety vest including a refill (2) containing at least two pressurised gas cartridges (3) disposed side-by-side so as to form a row and a release casing (4) including at least one percussion device (7) allowing, in the event of activation, perforating simultaneously or successively the perforable end (31) of each cartridge (3) so as to release the gas that it contains in the gaseous form out of the inflation device (1) through at least one orifice (8) formed on the release casing (4), the refill (2) comprising fastening means (5) on its lower face (21) and positioning means intended to orient each cartridge (3) so that its perforable end (31) is positioned according to the three dimensions on the side of said fastening members (5), said release casing (4) comprising complementary fastening means (6) on its upper face (41) adapted to cooperate with said fastening means (5), or vice versa, to guarantee removable and tight fastening to the gas contained in said cartridges (3), of the refill (2) and of the release casing (4) between them, the inflation device (1) being characterised in that the fastening means (5) of the refill (2) include at least one groove (51, 52) whose cross-section has a T or inverted L-like general shape and in that the complementary fastening means (6) of the release casing (4) include at least one rail (61, 62) whose cross-section has a T or inverted L-like general shape and homothetic to the cross-section of said groove (51, 52), the dimensions of the cross-section of each rail (61, 62) being slightly smaller than those of the associated groove (51, 52), so as to allow inserting each rail (61, 62) into the associated groove (51, 52) while guaranteeing sealing between each rail (61, 62) and the associated groove (51, 52).
2. The inflation device (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the positioning means are a bottleneck (22) located in the lower portion (21) of the refill (2) and adapted to receive the perforable end (31) of each cartridge (3).
3. The inflation device (1) according to claim 2, characterised in that the bottleneck (22) includes, from the outside towards the inside of the refill (2), an orifice (23) whose dimensions are very slightly larger than those of the perforable end (31) of the associated cartridge (3), a shoulder (24) extending outwards from said orifice (23), and a cone frustum (25) extending from said shoulder (24) towards the inside of the refill (2) while flaring.
4. The inflation device (1) according to any one of claims 2 or 3, characterised in that the positioning means include at least one sealing member (26) between each perforable end (31) and the associated bottleneck (22) .
5. The inflation device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the fastening means (5) of the refill (2) include, on the one hand, between each pair of cartridges (3), a first groove (51) whose cross-section has a T-like general shape and, on the other hand, on either side of the row of cartridges (3), a second groove (52) whose cross-section has an inversed L-like general shape and in that the complementary fastening means (6) of the release casing (4) include, on the one hand, a first rail (61) adapted to cooperate with each first groove (51) and whose cross-section has a T-like general shape and, on the other hand, a second rail (62) adapted to cooperate with each second groove (52) and whose cross-section has an inversed L-like general shape, the dimensions of the cross-section of each of the first and second rails (61, 62) being slightly smaller than those of the associated first or second groove (51, 52), so as to allow inserting each of the first and second rails (61, 62) into the associated first or second groove (51, 52) while guaranteeing sealing between each rail (61, 62) and the associated groove (51, 52).
6. The inflation device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the complementary fastening means (6) include at least one retractable locking pin (63) to prevent any unintentional disassembly of the refill (2) and of the release casing (4), when the complementary fastening means (6) are inserted into the fastening means (5).
7. The inflation device (1) according to claim 6, characterised in that each locking pin (63) includes a rod (64) adapted to slide along its longitudinal axis inside in an orifice (65) formed in the upper portion (41) of the release casing (4), by the action of a push member (66) disposed inside said orifice (65), said push member (66) tending to push the rod (64) outwards from the release casing (4) so as to fit the rod (64) into an orifice (53) formed in the lower face (21) of the refill (2).

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