Self-contained diving system with an automatic alarm

Abstract

The invention relates to a diving system for several persons in which, without using any type of motors and being self-contained, the cylinder used is attached to a mobile float which is pulled along by the users by means of air-carrying hoses of an adjustable size, which are floating and flexible and fitted with rotary terminals, the components thereof including an automatic underwater alarm actuated by the compressed air from the actual cylinder and having a quick-release pin which releases the belt from the user without interrupting the flow of air.

Description

[0001]The present invention relates to a self-contained diving system with an automatic alarm which is so simple and safe that it can be used by persons of any constitution, including children, the elderly and the disabled; using it, several divers are able to simultaneously breathe the air which is supplied to them by a cylinder of compressed air which is attached to a mobile float, which means that the users do not have to carry its weight or volume. The air reaches them, after being regulated, through hoses fitted with high security rotary connections which facilitate their use and avoid the risk associated with the practice of this sport because apart from serving to feed air to the divers, they also act as depth limiting elements and constitute the only equipment among all the equipment of prior art used for diving which, without using motors of any type and using hoses for supplying air, meaning that the divers do not carry the cylinders on their backs, benefits from the chara...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0022]2—The air hoses which are used are floating hoses so that the part which does not act as a drawing element at all times remains on the surface and is therefore not tangled from the bottom, and are flexible to ensure greater comfort in movements, having incorporated in some sections close to their couplings auxiliary floats and several over-hoses which serve to prevent acute angles from forming, which could affect the air flow. These hoses perform three different functions at the same time: a) they serve to pass the air from the first stage regulator fixed to the compressed air cylinder to the second stage regulator which the divers carry in their mouth; b) they are suitable for pulling through them the mobile float which is always on the surface and the elements connected to it, and finally c) they act as depth limiters since their length can easily be adjusted before each dive, causing the mobile float to brake. They have a maximum length of 8 metres from the point where they are connected to the first stage regulator to a “Y”-shaped branch to which two hoses are connected, each 4 metres long, and which supply air to two divers, since for safety reasons solitary dives are prohibited, this air flowing to the second stage regulators which the divers carry in their mouths. So although, due to their technical characteristics, it would be possible to descend to a depth of more than 30 metres with this new self-contained diving system with an automatic alarm using longer hoses, the depth its users are able to reach is 12 metres, which is the depth indicated in all the decompression tables for diving as the maximum depth that can be reached, and for the time they required without any kind of decompression, including successive dives and dives under any conditions, which means that when using this new diving system there is the added safety of not having to carry out any decompression whatsoever, thus avoiding the risks that it can bring. The hose terminals are of two types, and they are both rotary so that they can absorb the movements that the divers may make when submerged. Some have a quick-release connection, as mentioned above, with added safety, and others are threaded, with the added novelty that the terminal has been designed and developed solely for incorporation in this new invention since it has a seal in the form of a plastic ring, preferably of teflon, which avoids the friction which is generated between the metal section of the part incorporating an O-ring preventing air leaks, and the metal part of the locking nut when the pressure of the compressed air acts on them. Inserting this small seal between the two terminals facilitates the rotations that are produced in the hoses, thus preventing the wear that occurs as a result of metal to metal friction. Thus when the ring-shaped seal is added to it, a simple connection turns out to be an important totally novel, safe and low cost accessory that acts as a drawing point and eliminates hose kinking resulting from rotation of the divers in all conditions.

[0023]As will be readily understood, changing the “Y”-shaped branch to one with several connections means that several divers can use a single unit at the same time, which is very useful when tracking work is being carried out, thus easily allowing air to be supplied to four users simultaneously both due to the rate of air flow supplied by the cylinder and due to the diameter of its pipes, depending on the depth at which they are diving, and even at greater depths.

[0024]3—The belt worn by the drivers, which is very easy to put on and which replaces the classic fastenings and hydrostatic vests currently used with the scuba system, has, among other peculiar characteristics, that of being designed to be used by persons of any height, the same unit suitable both for an obese person weighing over 100 kg, and for a thin child 8 years of age, via simple manual adjustment. It also enables ballast weights to be carried in the belt itself, either in bags or passed directly through its webbing. At its centre, i.e. in the part equidistant from the securing buckles, totally novel multifunctional part is fastened which serves: a) to attach the hose by means of a single pin with a retractable safety head; b) to adjust the hose length between the fastening and the mouth of the diver; c) to adjust the exit angle of the hose from the belt to the general hose, thus avoiding interfering with the diver during the dive; d) it causes the end of the hose itself to act as a coupling for connection to the second stage by replacing those with a predetermined measurement, and finally e) it serves an element for release of the belt as pulling the cord attached to the eyebolt of the pin carrying the part and to the front of the actual belt, causes this pin to eject, releasing the hose, easily enabling the belt, with its ballast weights, to be dispensed of with without the user losing their air supply at any time.

[0025]It is important to point out that this “self-contained diving system with an automatic alarm” is able to operate with compressed air cylinders different from those normally used for diving, such as those used by fire brigades, among other professionals, which are designed to withstand the same pressures as steel cylinders, between 200 and 300 bars and more, but which are much lighter than those cylinders since they are produced from carbon compounds. Since the cylinders in this novel equipment remain on the surface connected to the float, they could technically be used, thereby reducing the weight of the unit as a whole, but the volume of those on the market and their higher price make their use impracticable for the time being. The aluminium cylinders which are normally used for diving in many parts of the world not only have a greater volume than steel cylinders but are ballasted so that they are balanced underneath the water. It would only be possible for the major production plants to eliminate this extra weight and incorporate them in their production processes with large series.

[0026]It must also be pointed out that this “self-contained diving system with an automatic alarm” allows the use of cylinders containing pure oxygen which, when breathed at a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure for a controlled length of time, and under medical supervision, enables the therapeutic method known as oxygenotherapy to be practised. This therapy has a beneficial effect on all types of persons, particularly elderly people and people who are ill.

[0027]And finally must be pointed out that this is the first self-contained diving system which is totally self-contained, without the users having to carry the cylinder on their back, without the use of motors of any type, but rather only the compressed air supplied to the diver from the cylinder that is fixed to its mobile float and uses holes for the supply of air, since the divers are able to move in comfort without requiring external assistance of any type, comprising among its elements an underwater automatic alarm actuated by the air in the cylinder to warn the users when they must complete the dive. For added safety the system has a device which enables the divers to easily release the ballast belt without losing the air supply at any time.

Problems solved by technology

However, all these advances, such as mixtures of gases which enable the diver to descend to great depths, mini control consoles, wrist computers, special clothing with which divers can dive into waters with extreme temperatures while connected to the latest high-tech communication equipment and much more, have not brought changes to the basic characteristics of the system which from the beginning has been used to dive with a self-contained helmet.

To dive with the “scuba system”, the user must carry, in addition to the diving goggles, the fins and the snorkel, the compressed air cylinder / s which are attached to the body by means of a coupling or hydrostatic vest, and which, with a weight normally of between 12 and 20 kg each, make it impossible in some cases to be able to move around with them when they are out of the water without external assistance.

If the inconvenience of also wearing a belt with weights, an emergency adjuster, control devices, a knife, etc., is added to this, the result is a feeling of discomfort which takes a lot of effort to overcome.

And although all this equipment is balanced in terms of weight, at the time the diver submerges, having to constantly move his volume and the equipment comprising it underwater is quite complicated and very often puts people who are not in good physical shape off from practising the sport, and of course it could not conceivably be used by children, the elderly or disabled persons.

Their complicated operating system, the risk of inhaling toxic gases, the constant noise they make whilst in operation and the malfunctions they continually suffered because their moving components, batteries and motors are exposed to a saline environment, coupled with their poor performance, as it was only possible to lower the equipment a few metres in depth, have led to their practical disappearance from the market.

This, combined with the noise and the pollution generated when internal combustion engines are used, and, in particular, the limitation of its movement capacity, has meant that this diving system is not used by those who dive for leisure, tourism or sport.

However, in addition to their high cost, their delicate mechanism means that they must be constantly maintained.

Recommended for use in major dives, they serve no practical purpose for diving of the low depth tourist type.

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