GB1560222A - Liferaft stabilising pockets - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN LIFERAPT STABILISING POCKETS (71) We, LIFEGUARD EQUIP MENT LIMITED, a British company, of Station Road, Ruthin, Clwyd LL15 lYL, Wales, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- This invention relates to liferafts having liferaft stabilising pockets incorporating means to expedite their deployment on entering the water.

Stabilising pockets take the form of one or more fabric containers which are attached to the underside of the floor or buoyancy tube of a liferaft as near as possible to the perisher" and which are intended to fill with water when the liferaft is afloat. In calm waters they are ineffective, out m the presence of wind or waves and especially if the raft is lightly laden then the weight of the water contained Within the pockets exerts a stabilising influence on the liferaft.

Water pockets of the types normally fitted to liferafts are made of flexible, woven fabric, possibly coated with rubber or an alternative polymer. When the liferaft is in its packed, uninflated condition the water pockets are also tightly compressed so that on inflation of the liferaft from its container, when the raft spreads out on the water, the water pockets do not necessarily become immediately serviceable, owing to the low recovery speed of the pocket fabric and the equality of the internal and external water pressures acting on the pocket. Thus the stabilising pockets are not entirely effective at this initial stage, which is unfortunate since immediately on inflation, before any survivors board the raft the latter is extremely susceptible to winds.

Various means have been used to force the stabilising pocket into the designed shape immediately on inflation of the liferaft. Such means include rods lying between the underside of the raft and the bottom of the pocket, or lining the pocket sides with rigid boards which are erected by elasticated cord or webbing strung between the raft and the pockets. Such means have proved either complicated or hazardous to the liferaft.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a stabilising pocket that deploys itself on inflation of the liferaft.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a liferaft having a stabilising pocket which is collapsibly foldable within the liferaft, the stabilising pocket comprising an impervious collapsible vessel having- an upper end attached to the underside of the floor of the liferaft and having at least one aperture adjacent the upper end arranged to allow the influx of water into the vessel for absorption by at least one compressible resilient water absorbent member contained within the vessel, the restitution of the absorbent member being arranged to assist the deployment of the vessel from its folded state.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a liferaft having a stabilising pocket comprising a resilient water absorbent member attached to the underside of the floor of the liferaft, the absorbent member being collapsible and foldable and serving to absorb water during its restitution from its collapsed state and during the deployment of the liferaft.

In a preferred embodiment the vessel is a polymer coated, fabric box of generally rectangular section, the floor and two opposite interior sides of which are lined with panels of open cell plastics sponge foam and which the upper regions of the remaining two opposite sides have a plurality of circular apertures.

The invention will now be particularly described by way of example, with reference to the drawings accompanying the Provisional Specification in which: Fig. 1 shows a liferaft furnished with stabilising pockets according to the present invention; Fig. 2 shows the front of a completely deployed stabilising pocket, Fig. 3 shows the front of the stabilising pockets of Fig. 2 in which the stabilising pocket is partially collapsed.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings an inflated liferaft 10 is shown afloat with stabilising pockets 8 depending from the underside of its floor.

Referring to Fig. 2 there is illustrated the stabilising pocket 8 consisting of a box-shaped flexible woven fabric pocket 3 coated with rubber or an alternative polymer in which there are apertures 4 adjacent the upper ends 6 to allow the influx of water into the interior 9 wherein are situated three panels 5 of open cell plastics sponge foam.

The deployment of such a stabilising pocket may be described as follows. Prior to entering the water the liferaft 10 including stabilising pockets 8 is folded in a container (not shown). When immersed in the water, the ejection of the liferaft and its associated equipment from the container and the subsequent inflation are activated by means of a painter line strung between the liferaft and its mother vessel. The stabilising pockets are at this stage still partially compressed as shown in Fig. 3. However the panels 5, owing to their natural resilience assist the deployment of the pocket 3 and in so doing absorb the water that enters the interior 9 through the aperture 4.Apart from assisting the recovery of the pocket 3 to the shape as shown in Fig. 2, the panels 5 also improve the rigidity of the pocket shape in the water and thereby lessen the tendency for contained water to be pumped out by pocket movement in, for example, a tideway or swell.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A liferaft having a stabilising pocket comprising a resilient water absorbent member attached to the underside of the floor of the liferaft, the absorbent member being collapsible and foldable and being arranged to absorb water during its restitution from its collapsed state and during the deployment of the liferaft.

2. A liferaft having a stabilising pocket which is collapsibly foldable within the liferaft, said stabilising pocket comprising an impervious collapsible vessel having an upper end attached to the underside of the floor of the liferaft and having at least one aperture adjacent the upper end arranged to allow the influx of water into the vessel for absorption by at least one compressible resilient water absorbent member contained within the vessel, the restitution of the absorbent member being arranged to assist the deployment of the vessel from its folded state.

3. A liferaft having a liferaft stabilising pocket as claimed in claim 2, in which said vessel is a polymer coated, fabric box of generally rectangular section.

4. A liferaft having a liferaft stabilising pocket as claimed in claim 3, in which the floor and two opposite interior sides of the vessel are lined with panels of open cell plastics sponge foam and in which the upper regions of the remaining two opposite sides have a plurality of circular apertures.

5. A liferaft having a liferaft stabilising pocket as claimed in claim 4, in which the fabric is a woven fabric coated with rubber or with a polymer.

6. Liferafts having liferaft stabilising pockets constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to an as illustrated in the drawings accompanying the Provisional Specifica tion.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (6)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. Fig. 3 shows the front of the stabilising pockets of Fig. 2 in which the stabilising pocket is partially collapsed. In Fig. 1 of the drawings an inflated liferaft 10 is shown afloat with stabilising pockets 8 depending from the underside of its floor. Referring to Fig. 2 there is illustrated the stabilising pocket 8 consisting of a box-shaped flexible woven fabric pocket 3 coated with rubber or an alternative polymer in which there are apertures 4 adjacent the upper ends 6 to allow the influx of water into the interior 9 wherein are situated three panels 5 of open cell plastics sponge foam. The deployment of such a stabilising pocket may be described as follows. Prior to entering the water the liferaft 10 including stabilising pockets 8 is folded in a container (not shown). When immersed in the water, the ejection of the liferaft and its associated equipment from the container and the subsequent inflation are activated by means of a painter line strung between the liferaft and its mother vessel. The stabilising pockets are at this stage still partially compressed as shown in Fig. 3. However the panels 5, owing to their natural resilience assist the deployment of the pocket 3 and in so doing absorb the water that enters the interior 9 through the aperture 4.Apart from assisting the recovery of the pocket 3 to the shape as shown in Fig. 2, the panels 5 also improve the rigidity of the pocket shape in the water and thereby lessen the tendency for contained water to be pumped out by pocket movement in, for example, a tideway or swell. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A liferaft having a stabilising pocket comprising a resilient water absorbent member attached to the underside of the floor of the liferaft, the absorbent member being collapsible and foldable and being arranged to absorb water during its restitution from its collapsed state and during the deployment of the liferaft.

2. A liferaft having a stabilising pocket which is collapsibly foldable within the liferaft, said stabilising pocket comprising an impervious collapsible vessel having an upper end attached to the underside of the floor of the liferaft and having at least one aperture adjacent the upper end arranged to allow the influx of water into the vessel for absorption by at least one compressible resilient water absorbent member contained within the vessel, the restitution of the absorbent member being arranged to assist the deployment of the vessel from its folded state.

3. A liferaft having a liferaft stabilising pocket as claimed in claim 2, in which said vessel is a polymer coated, fabric box of generally rectangular section.

4. A liferaft having a liferaft stabilising pocket as claimed in claim 3, in which the floor and two opposite interior sides of the vessel are lined with panels of open cell plastics sponge foam and in which the upper regions of the remaining two opposite sides have a plurality of circular apertures.

5. A liferaft having a liferaft stabilising pocket as claimed in claim 4, in which the fabric is a woven fabric coated with rubber or with a polymer.

6. Liferafts having liferaft stabilising pockets constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to an as illustrated in the drawings accompanying the Provisional Specifica tion.