Ski Mountaineering Equipment Detection Device

Description

Michael L uc c hini Michael March 11, 2025 L uc c hini 09:25:07 March 11, 2025 GMT +01:00 09:25:07 Description GMT +01:00 Of the invention entitled Device for Detecting Ski Mountaineering Equipment Applicants: Antonio Ricci RCCNTN76P04L483V Nationality - Italian Michael Lucchini LCCMHL77C27C722V Nationality - Italian Inventors: Antonio Ricci RCCNTN76P04L483V Nationality - Italian Michael Lucchini LCCMHL77C27C722V Nationality - Italian The present invention relates to a device to assist in search operations of ski mountaineering equipment lost while exercising. Over the last few years there has been a significant increase in the number of users of the discipline of ski mountaineering. Although, in many cases these users come from other similar disciplines such as alpine skiing, a widespread inexperience or lack of familiarity with the classic unforeseen events typical of high altitude alpine activities carried out in the period winter. According to some projections (also confirmed by the constant increase in sales volume of specific equipment for ski mountaineering) the number of new users is expected to grow increasingly also considered that ● The high energy prices will certainly lead to a considerable increase in the prices of ski pass ● The constant increase in the snow level will increasingly put the possibility of to be able to use ski lifts and will promote ski mountaineering at higher altitudes. The considerations made, combined with the technological evolution of the materials intended for the ski mountaineering, confirm the need to have the safety device covered by the present invention. At the moment there is no device that constitutes a concrete aid to locating a lost piece of ski mountaineering equipment. The object of the present invention is a device composed of two elements… better described below with reference to figure 1. This device is to be applied or integrated into the equipment, in such a way that it is capable of regularly sending a signal on radio waves (of a frequency different from those intended for the search for buried individuals - 457KHz), which can be picked up by a remote device. This receiver, a fundamental component of this The invention must be able to perform the following functions: ● receive the specific signal sent by the buried equipment transmitter ● Indicate the distance on a display and via an acoustic signal of variable intensity and the direction to reach the lost equipment Radio frequency communication technology is currently widely used and used in open environments without barriers that hinder the passage of radio waves. For this reason this technique must comply with specific regulations that define the frequencies and transmission power so as not to interfere with other equipment that uses the same technique. Therefore the choice of signal frequencies and its intensity must meet specific requirements. Furthermore, the high level of integration of electronic circuits allows the creation of devices small size and low consumption, which can be easily housed on the equipment to be found with the device which is the subject of the present invention. The evolution of integrated circuit technology allows the creation of components with low consumption. At the same time, the evolution of battery technology, which offers capacity increasingly higher performance on smaller containers, allowing the production of devices portable and wearable devices of very small dimensions, such as, for example, wearable devices applied to fitness, .. …. Given the above, it is believed that the device according to the present invention is easily achievable and usable in the intended field of applications. With regard to this field of application, currently, on the market it is available and mandatory to anyone who practices winter sports in "particular snowy environments where, due to the conditions snow and weather conditions, there are risks of avalanches” a device called Artva which It performs the above functions but only in combination with other similar devices to assist in the search for a buried individual. Given the nature and importance of the device, It can be assumed that with simple modifications, it is possible to achieve the above mentioned functions in Arva device itself: ● Adding a receiver element locked to the transmitter frequency ● Added a trigger for the “search for equipment” mode ● Any changes to the built-in software to communicate the mode device operation. Obviously the Artva will continue to emit the signal even in “equipment search” mode. 457KHz safety signal as required by law. At the moment, Artva-type devices focus only on finding the buried individual and While this is undeniably a priority, it is considered essential to facilitate the operations for finding lost material as it is essential for carrying out the safety of the activity and the return to base without resorting to expensive rescue vehicles and should be involved in more critical and priority interventions. Losing a ski while ski mountaineering could seem at first glance represent a mere economic problem. It is also essential to consider the potential hostility of the environment in which this activity is practiced. It can therefore easily imagine a high risk associated with the loss of a ski, mainly consisting of from the exponential increase in difficulties (which sometimes results in an impossibility) of doing return to the valley. It is therefore clear that the primary purpose of the present invention is the user safety. At the moment, no ski or binding manufacturer sells a single component, ski and Bindings should always be purchased in pairs. Losing one ski would result in necessarily the need to buy a new pair of skis / bindings. Therefore, even if Since this invention is not the primary purpose, it eliminates the risk of economic impact. The usage scenario involves activating the transmitter device when starts the activity. In the event that a ski is released, the transmitter will start emitting its signal. Other transmitters in the surrounding area must be deactivated, so as not to influence the search. The receiver will then be activated and the search will proceed. The transmitter will always send the signal on the same frequency, so that more people can participate in the search and increase the chances of finding the lost material. Considering the usage scenarios, the transmitter must guarantee sufficient robustness at low temperatures, oscillations, shocks and other stresses. Having said all this and considered, the device will be better described and illustrated in the drawings. attachments and in the relevant description that follows. Description of the drawings Figure 1 shows the block diagram of the device which is the subject of this paper. invention. Figure 2 shows the block diagram of the transmitter element which is part of innovative and fundamental of the device which is the object of the present invention. Figure 3 shows the block diagram of the receiver element. Detailed description With reference to figure 1, the configuration of the device which is the subject of this invention is made up of two elements (1 and 2), connected to each other, to perform the functions expected for the device. An element called 1, the Transmitter, activates the emission of the radio frequency signal, of appropriate power, as soon as the ski is released, to allow the element called 2, the Receiver or position detector, to start tracking the ski with the indication of direction and to detect the distance by measuring the intensity of the signal received. The emitted signal is also received by other detector receivers in the vicinity, making it easier in this way the search operations. The Receiver Detector element is equipped with a suitable display to indicate to the researchers of the object ski the direction or band of terrain towards which to move and, through a acoustic signal, provides an indication of the distance of the object: the more intense the The closer the object to be found, the closer it gets. All of the above allows the device to perform the following functions: ● Emission of an appropriate radio frequency signal in case of detachment of the equipment ● Receiving the search signal ● Identifying the search area ● Indication of the distance and direction of the transmitter on the equipment detached With reference to figure 2, the Transmitter element, as a fundamental component housed on the equipment is made up of the following blocks: ● a block [1] called Ski Release Detector which signals to the Control block [2], by means of an appropriate signal, the ski has been released; ● a block [2] called Control, consisting of an integrated logic component programmable microcontroller type for managing the integration and functions of the other blocks; ● a [3] Radio Frequency Signal Generator block equipped with appropriate circuits for the generation of the radio frequency carrier signal to drive the block [5] Transmitter that provides the appropriate power to the signal; ● a block [4] Acoustic Signal Generator, which on command from the Control [2] provides for the emission of an audio signal at a constant rate and frequency and intensities suitable to be perceived by the research group. This block is also suitable to report battery charging status; ● a block [6] Power supply equipped with a rechargeable battery capable of providing the appropriate voltages and currents to the other blocks The above description allows us to state that the Transmitter element is capable of perform the following functions, aimed at achieving the objectives set for the device according to the present invention: ● Emission of an appropriate frequency that can be activated only when necessary to send to the receiver ● Activation of an acoustic signal, in combination with the emission of the signal in radio frequency, as an aid in location identification ● The battery power supply must be capable of recharging the battery via external device. It is natural to hypothesize the integration of this transmitting element, made with appropriate technologies that guarantee its functionality in the intended operating environment, with the equipment. In particular, this element must be made in such a way as to resistant to environmental conditions, therefore protected by a watertight casing and compliant with the regulations for the emission of radio frequency signals. Figure 3 shows the block diagram of the receiver element, which is essential to provide to the user of the device the data and the search guide of the equipment. The element is composed of the following basic blocks: ● A block called controller 3, designed to implement the functionality of this element through management and control, implemented with an appropriate software program resident and through the connection to the other blocks; ● A switch block 1 to turn the element on and off receiver, as soon as the search activity begins; ● A display block 2 on which to present information relating to the direction and distance, based on the intensity of the signal received from the element transmitter, of the equipment to be searched for; ● A block 4 for decoding the radio frequency signal received from the transmitter, in able to provide the controller block with data relating to the received radio signal, with particular reference to the signal intensity and indication of the maximum value in function of the orientation of the receiver antenna; ● A radio frequency signal receiver block 5 equipped with an appropriate antenna tuned to the transmitter frequency, connected to block 4 for decoding the signal itself; ● A block 6 capable, upon indication of the controller block 3, of emitting a signal acoustic, of variable intensity depending on the intensity of the radio frequency signal received; ● A battery block supplying 7 circuits of the receiver element, for allow the portability and autonomy of operation of the element itself. This The block is equipped with batteries that can be recharged by connecting it to a external device. What has been stated and described in detail above allows us to state that the objectives set by the present invention are fully achieved and, precisely: ● Using the transmitter element 1 in figure 1 and the respective functional blocks shown in figure 2, you are able to send a radio frequency signal as soon as the equipment is released from the skier; ● Using the receiver element 2 of Figure 1 and the respective functional blocks shown in figure 3 you are able to receive the signal and identify the search direction and the distance of the equipment from the research personnel, to allow for recovery of the equipment itself. It is also evident that, with regard to the industrial exploitation of the present invention, the elements of the device according to the present invention will be made by the use of the most modern technologies of integrated electronic circuits and related techniques assembly to allow the integration of the transmitting element into the equipment and the wearability and transportability of the receiving element, in compliance with all regulations environmental and EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) / EMC (Electro Magnetic Compatibility) in force.

Claims

Michael L uc c hini March 11, 2025 09:25:07 GMT +01:00 1. Device for performing the equipment search function accidentally lost during ski mountaineering, characterized by the made of understanding - one (1) radio frequency signal transmitter element, to be installed on ski mountaineering equipment, which, in the event of the equipment being released, being equipped with appropriate electronic circuits powered by a rechargeable battery that activates the repetitive transmission of the signal to be sent to the receiving element (2), waves enable the location of lost equipment to be detected; - an element (2) suitable for receiving the radio frequency signal emitted from the element (1) and suitable to be worn by the person carrying out the search and equipped with appropriate electronic circuits, powered by a rechargeable battery and capable of detect the direction and distance from the lost equipment and report these parameters through a display and an acoustic signal.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that said element transmitter (1) is equipped with a control block (2) capable of realizing, via the blocks (3) and (5) as per Figure 2, the function of emitting a signal in radio frequency to be sent to the receiving element for appropriate identification of the search area and subsequent discovery.

3. Device as in 2, equipped with a block (1) as in Figure 2, for detecting the unhooking the equipment and activating the transmission of the radio frequency signal.

4. Device as in 2 and 3 equipped with an appropriate circuit (4) as per Figure 2, for the emission of an acoustic signal to facilitate the search procedure and to indicate, at rest, the charge status of the rechargeable battery.

5. Device as in 2, 3 and 4 equipped with power circuit(6), with battery rechargeable, as shown in Figure 2.

6. Device as in 2, 3, 4 and 5 suitable for being industrially manufactured and reproduced, making use of modern integrated circuit technologies and more advanced manufacturing techniques assembly.

7. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that said element receiver (2) is able to realize, according to the block diagram in Figure 3, the functions to signal the location of the equipment to research personnel missing.

8. Device according to claim 7, suitable for being made and reproduced industrially, making use of modern integrated circuit technologies and more advanced assembly techniques and suitable for being worn appropriately.

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